Faith: The 98th Hunger Games
by CeliseShipper
Summary: Lottie Wilson, a twelve year old from district four volunteers for the Hunger Games. Everybody thinks she has nothing to bring to the table, but they are very, very wrong. What is the glory in self-sacrifice? COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! For anyone who has read this before, I am rewriting this story. I just didn't like the lack of effort and the direction the last version had. You can read on to the next chapter's, and they will soon be changed. I hope you like this better!**

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><p>"Lottie, do you know what this is?"<p>

I shook my head. What my father held in front of me was simple: a long stick of wood, with its end carved into a point. But at three years old, I had no word for it this foreign object. "Stick?" I tried.

"It's called a spear Lottie," he said, placing it down next to him. "It's what my grandfather used when he fished. He taught my mother how to fish the traditional way, she taught me, and now it's how I'm going to teach you."

"Do you fish with these daddy?" I had asked.

"Not anymore if I want to make money. But that doesn't require the skill of fishing with a spear, the skill I am going to teach you."

I looked up at my father, my hero. His tall stature, his large belly, the way he would always smell of fish, and his long, red hair. His whiskers would shake when he laughed, which was often, and his eyes were the green color of the sea.  
>I always wanted to be like him. My mother would often catch me coloring my blonde hair with orange marker or cutting out green circles of paper to put in my eyes in an attempt to emulate his appearance.<p>

Every day he was home we would have a fishing lesson, and I would treasure every minute. When he wasn't home, I would practice with every free minute I had. I didn't have much to do other than that, and I wanted to fish exactly like my dad. I didn't have any friends. I didn't go to training camps. All the other kids learned to fish on boats with their parents.

My life consisted of a spear.

What I learned that day when I was three years old changed my life forever. "You must be patient. You must be accurate. You must be precise. You must be strong."

My father was my greatest inspiration. But now he was gone. He died in a boating accident two years ago. My mother had died when I was five of a heart condition. I can barely remember her. My only living relative was my mom's sister, a mean lady with no care of anyone by herself. She only provided for me because she would get in trouble with the law if she didn't.

I was no longer the three-year-old who had never seen a spear. I was the 12-year-old master. Secretly. The kids at school had never seen me at any training, and had assumed I was weak. I guess anyone would make that assumption, no matter where I went. During recess I hid. During class I read. I was nothing to them.

After school, I would walk through my house, past my aunt who would ignore my presence, and go right to my backyard. Through my backyard I would walk through the tall grass for about a mile until I got to the beach. There, I would grab my spear from the bush and practice. As if it would somehow bring my dad back.

Fishing with the spear is what connected me to my dad.

But today there would be no school, and today there would be no practicing. Today was the reaping day. And I was twelve years old.

* * *

><p>The sun's light passed through the window and right on to my bed, warming the covers and me under it.<p>

The first thing I do is check the calendar. Maybe the reaping has already happened, and I don't have to deal with the pain of remembering it. I am unlucky. My memory did not do me a favor, and I will have to live through this.

The memory blips started when I was five, not long after my mom died. I didn't tell anyone in fear of being thought crazy or sent away. Being sent away would have been a privilege after dad died, I'd rather be anywhere than with my neglectful aunt, but I knew that if I did tell her about my memory problems, she wouldn't care. She would rather not have me here. She would rather me be chosen for the reaping. Still, there would be days that would go by and I would remember none of it.

I sighed and slipped out of bed. In my closet was my blue-green dress I had bought. A lump formed in the pit of my stomach.  
>This was it.<p>

-  
>Town square was full of children, as it is every year. Except this year, I was in the midst of it. The lump in my stomach grew stronger. "Your name is only in there once, and surely someone else would volunteer, right?"<br>I nervously picked at the finger they had taken my blood sample from. "If you get picked, someone will volunteer and you can go home...Go home to your spear."  
>Home. Home where my only friend was a pointed stick of wood. Where my aunt didn't care if I existed, and would probably be more pleased if I died. What was there to go back to?<p>

The governor tapped the microphone nervously and started talking.

"Here in district four, we are lucky to be one of the three strongest districts in these Hunger Games..." He talked for more, but I didn't listen.

Home.  
>What home?<br>Why would I be here miserable for the rest of my life? I have no friends, my aunt hates me, and there's no future for someone who can only spear fish.  
>A video played about The Hunger Games. I didn't watch, I had seen it all before. Umanda, our district's host, walked up to the microphone. She talked with a thick Capitol accent that was almost humorous. She had tattoos covering most of her bodies.<br>"There's a new one on her head," the girl behind me snickered.  
>"How do you know?" asked her friend. "I pay close attention to detail."<p>

Finally, it was time to for Umanda to pick the tributes. The entire square went silent as she dipped her hand into the bowl, swirled it around, and picked up one slip. She opened it slowly, as if to purposely agitate us.  
>"Caroline Shire."<br>Caroline Shire walked up to the stage proudly. She was beefy, toned, and had to be at least seventeen. In that moment I knew I had two choices: To go back home and live out my life, or to save someone's life. Behind Caroline's tough appearance, Lottie could tell that Caroline was scared. She saw it in her eyes. So when Umanda asked if there was anyone willing to volunteer, Lottie thrust her arm into the air and screamed "Me!"

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><p><strong>So what do you think? If there are mistakes please tell me! Thanks!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

My voice echoed through the square, as if nothing but it existed. Time stood still. Nobody moved. All eyes, thousands of eyes, were pointed at me. I've already regretted my decision, but there is no going back now.  
>As Caroline is ushered down from the stage, I am brought up. She tries to look angry, but in her eyes I can see a sense of relief. There is also a hint of worry in there. The worry is held for me. Umanda wraps her arm around me. The arm is cold, bony, and her long fingernails dig into my skin. I wish that she would let go. "What is your name, child?" she asks sharply.<br>"Lottie," I answered, dazed. "Lottie Wilson."  
>"Ah," she said, finally releasing me from her grasp. "Our female tribute, Lottie Wilson!"<br>There were a few faint clips and muffles from the crowd. I look behind me to see Noje and Carmella, a few of our district's past winners. They look stone-faced and cold, as they always do. I remember when Carmella won, five years ago. The arena was a large underground maze that year. Tributes started to go crazy by seeing nothing but the same, gray walls no matter how long they walked. Carmella stood by the careers until there were only two of them left: Her and the boy from district 2. He tried to sneak up on her and stab her in the back, but she turned around just in time to stab him in the heart. From what I saw on television, she was a nice bubbly girl before entering the arena. She always wore pink and had a smile on her face. After winning, she has never been the same. Her daily clothes were gray, and although only 20 years old, she had aged greatly in her looks. There were wrinkles under her eyes and on her forehead. She never dared to look anyone in the eye and would rather look down on the ground. The bubbly girl who had existed just five years ago was destroyed by the Hunger Games.

Noje won a couple of years before I was born. From what I've heard, he's always had a cold heart.

"Now time for our next tribute!" Squeaked Umanda and she walked over to the other glass bowl. She dipped her hand in, fished it around for a bit, and then finally grabbed a slip. She pulled it out and read. "John Freeman!"

I don't bother to look at him. I know he'll soon be replaced by a volunteer. And he is, a redheaded boy by the name of Rone Chowkzy takes his place. Rone is 18, strong, and intimidating. He has a smirk on his face, a smirk that taunts me and makes me uncomfortable.

We're shuffled away from the stage and into the Justice Building. I'm left alone in a room by myself.

This is supposed to be the part where people close to me and love me say goodbye. Except there's nobody who loves me. There is nobody even remotely close to me. I hug my knees up to my face, and cry.

How stupid was I? That's my problem, isn't it. Making stupid decisions. I could have found a life and friends, could have found it here on my own. I could have found something, done something, been happy. Only if I tried. Instead, I made a rash decision to save a girl someone would have probably volunteered for anyway. If my father were here, what would he say? How hurt would he be?

I sighed. There was no changed what had already been done. What I can do is change the future. There are going to be twenty-four of us in the arena, and only one is going to survive. I could find a spear, or even make a rubbish one out of wood, like my first one that dad taught me with all those years ago. I had good aim. I could kill humans like I kill fish.

No. I couldn't kill, and I knew that. I didn't have the state of mind to, and I knew I couldn't bear it. I was good at hiding. Maybe I could hide until everyone else dies.

The door opens and it's the peacekeepers. It's time to go. -  
>Everything on my chambers on the train was smaller than they were at my house. Not that I had a problem with it. My room at home was large, white, empty, and made me feel very alone and small, more than I already was. What does make me uncomfortable is the smell. At home, everywhere you went had the smell of the sea. Here, everything smelled of bleach and perfume.<p>

I've told Umanda that I wasn't hungry and wouldn't be coming out for dinner. I didn't care if I was losing precious "training time" with Noje and Carmella. I wanted to be by myself.

I sigh, lie down on my bed, and wish this whole thing was just one, big dream.  
>-<p>

I wake up the next morning, still in my chambers, and still on the train. I drag myself out of bed and to the drawer. I find a simple white dress similar to my normal style. I pull it on and examine myself in the mirror. There are deep bags under my eyes and my hair is matted. My glasses are dirty, so I take them off and clean them with my dress. I find a brush and make a futile attempt to get rid of the knots. After a few minutes of my hair, I give up due to the tugging was hurting my head and I was starving. The last time I ate was almost a day ago.

In the dining hall, Rone is talking to Noje, Umanda is sharpening her nails and Carmella is absent. I take a piece of seaweed bread and a little bacon, not wanting to gorge myself and be sick for when I arrive in the Capitol.

"Ah, look who has decided to join civilization," said Umanda with a flick of her hand. "Eat fast, we'll be at the Capitol in only a few minutes."

I ignored her. Instead, I tried to listen in on Noje and Rone's conversation.  
>"What are you talking about?" I say slowly, trying not to rudely interrupt.<br>"Strategies," answered Noje answered quickly, "Of no use to you."  
>"Why?"<br>Noje laughed. "Why? Why do you think? You're the size of an eight year old. You've never been to training. The Careers aren't going to want you. You'll be dead within the first five minutes."

The words stung, but I didn't have time to react, for we had arrived. Rone jumped to the window to wave the Capitol citizens, while I sat starting at my bread.  
>-<p>

The hair that I couldn't even attempt to brush earlier was painfully pulled until it was straight. My glasses were taken from me, and, as I objected to a shot that would forever correct my eyesight, replaced with contacts. My glasses made up my look and what I thought of myself, and I didn't want that taken away from me just so I would 'Look Better'. I didn't have much hair on my body, but anything that wasn't on my head was forcefully ripped off.  
>"Ow!" I reacted "Ouch-watch it!"<br>"Be careful," said one of the people working on me, "She's young and her skin is fragile."  
>"Can I put on clothes now?" I asked, "Please?"<br>He handed me my robe, and I tied it around myself, embarrassed. As the hair-rippers left, my stylist came in. She was a tall Capitol woman, with green hair and an obnoxiously pink pantsuit.  
>"Hello Lottie," she said, "I'm Svetlana. Do not worry, I already have your measurements and your dress has already been made by me and Homora, so you will not need to remove your robe in front of anyone again. I know how young girls like you can be quite self-conscious,"<p>

Svetlana's words seemed to roll of her tongue as she spoke, each coming directly after another, in perfect unison.

"What will I be wearing?" I asked.

"You'll see," she said with a smirk.

In the matter of an hour, my hair is given extensions to make it much longer and flow down my back. It also has blue and green extensions in it, the colors of the sea. My dress is blue-green glimmering jewels, and on my head was a ring of magic flowing, glowing fish.

As much as I loved the outfit, Rone hated it. He had blue-green sparkling pants and a magic tunic, with his own crown of fish. He looked disgusted and detested it, and that almost made me happy.

Almost.

This was still the Hunger Games.

All the tributes were lined up in their chariots, ours fourth. Our horses were an unnatural blue color. I got a large knot in my stomach. I hated being out in front of people, and I hated being the center of attention.

One by one, the chariots began to enter the stadium. The district one tributes wore nothing but jewels, thousands and thousands of them, all over their entire bodies. Distrcit two were dressed as Roman Warriors, even with swords at hand. I believe District three won the prize for worst Opening outfits this year, both of them dressed as ridiculous, stereotypical square robots. Then it was our turn.

I closed my eyes, not wanting to see anything, but as the crowd roared, I couldn't help but open them. There were people, people everywhere. I looked up at them, mesmerized. I had never seen so many people in my life, even on reaping day. I looked up at the big screen, and right at my face, a a hundred thousand times bigger than it really is. Without my glasses, my eyes look large, wide, and excited.

But I can see my face darken as I realize what coming here, entering this stadium really means.  
>This is the end. <p>


	3. Chapter 3

"This is a trident, Lottie." said my father, raising the triple pointed stick up before me. "You won't be using this yet." He picked up yet another object, this one sleek, black, and with a triangle in a point at the end. "This is my spear."

My four-year-old eyes gleamed at the new spear, so much nicer than the handmade wooden one I had been using. "Can use this one daddy?"

My father shook his head. "You haven't even fished in water yet, and won't for a while. Right now, I am still teaching you how to throw and how to stay calm. Of course, these skills will be advanced on in the future. You're not going to have the same arm strength now that you will have when you are ten. No, no. You will have to continually work on this. When you can fish with the wooden spear, you get the real spear. When you can fish with the real spear, you can fish with the trident. In the time when you first get your trident, it will seem as if you never want to go back to the moment with the spears. But one day, you will be thankful I taught you the way of the wooden spear in the first place. Not everyone knows how to make a spear, even one as limited as the wooden one, but you will."

I still fail to understand what my father meant with his last statement. How hard would it be to make the garbage wooden spear? The carving process wouldn't be too difficult, and almost anyone could figure it out. Despite my confusion on his context, I clung on to his words, and these fading, older memories of my father.

* * *

><p>"You were great," rang Umanda's snarky little voice. running toward us after the parade. "You were nice, Lobbie," she said, glancing at me for one second.<p>

"Lottie," I muttered under my breath.  
>She didn't hear me, and turned to Rone. "You made such an impression out there!" she smiled. "Everyone is going to remember you, your muscle size, dare I say you're larger than the boy from district two! I think we have a winner this year!"<br>"What about me?" I wondered questioningly. I knew I didn't have much of a chance here, but I though the support and help was supposed to be equal between the two of us.  
>Umanda rolled her eyes and squeaked at me, "Didn't you hear me? I told you that you were nice."<p>

* * *

><p>The morning after the parade I woke up in my new room at the Tribute Center. Last night was a blur. I was partially blinded by my drowsiness and half in a daze from realizing that this was it, I was really in the Hunger Games. This was not some dream that could just go away, this was real, and it was happening to me.<p>

I yawned and stepped off my bed. Hopefully in the training with the other tributes I could learn something useful to keep me alive in the arena. Umanda had already made it pretty clear she had little to no faith in me after her reaction after the parade. I couldn't count on Carmella or Noje to help me, I barely knew them and it was already apparent they were betting all they had on Rone.

One would think that there had to be something special about a twelve year old weakling from a career district who volunteered. Even though I made a rash decision when I wasn't thinking clearly, nobody knew that. Maybe they should be thinking about what secret talent I possess, what made me volunteer. Instead, I have been shoved to the side and ignored. This wasn't fair. There are tributes just like me every year that do get help from their mentors and hosts. Why would I be pushed aside? Especially me, a career, and with my reputation?

Outside my door was a pink and turquoise outfit I presumed was for training. Good thing Svetlana hasn't given up on me yet, she's the only one who has been decent to me throughout this whole thing.

Everybody was there for breakfast. I was seated with Rone on one side of me and Svetlana on the other. Homora sat next to Rone, and Noje and Carmella sat across from us. Umanda took her place at the head of the table.

Conversation initiated immediately. Rone was given help from an uncharacteristically lively Noje and Carmella. In all the years that I had seen Carmella, either from the television or when she was in town, I had never seen her eyes so excited. Clearly, there was shining potential in Rone.

This was true. Rone had always been at the top of the training center back at home. I knew this because that's all anyone ever talked about. Rone could run faster than anyone. Rone was handy with almost every weapon. When he would walk the hallways in school, everybody would turn their back and whisper. Everybody has been waiting for him to volunteer for years. I swear, he never leaves the training center.

He never leaves the training center.

When I find a break in their conversation, I turn to Rone. "Have you ever been fishing?" I ask him.

He stare at me stunned for a second. Then he answers. "No, no I haven't actually. I always wanted to train."

"You live in district four and you've never even been fishing, once?" asked Carmella.

"No," answered Rone swiftly. "There was no time for that."

Noje rolled his eyes. "There is no need for that. Learning how to fish won't be the difference between life and death in the arena." Noje focuses his attention toward me. "And it's nice of you to make yourself known for once."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I retort quickly.

He shrugged his shoulders. "You're nothing. People back home think you're some shy, stupid little girl who volunteered only because she wanted people to know your name. The entire country of Panem has seen those interviews. Carmella and I have nothing to help you. The rest of the careers won't want to form an alliance with you, you'll slow them down. Rone has already made it clear to me that he wants nothing to do with you. You are not interesting, and nobody feels bad for you considering you volunteered. All I can say is try your best, and maybe you won't be the first one killed."

* * *

><p>I was about to leave and go to the training center before Svetlana stopped me.<br>"Can I talk to you for a second, alone?" She asked.  
>I nodded. I was in a bad state of mind after the predicament at breakfast, and Svetlana had been the first person since I had gotten here that actually had been decent to me.<p>

She took me into the hallway, and checked around to see if anyone was around. When she was sure the coast was clear, she began talking.  
>"Why don't you tell them?" she whispered.<br>I was confused. "About what?"  
>"Your arms sweetie. Your arms."<br>"What about them?"  
>"The muscles in your arm are not proportional to the rest of your body. Not enough to be blatantly obvious, but enough to be seen. More muscle than that would naturally be in a girl of your body shape. You're strong."<p>

I shrugged. "I throw spears and I fish with them. I also swim a lot and have to carry buckets of fish and water every day. I guess it built up from that."

"Why didn't you tell them that." She war referring to Noje and Carmella.

I shrugged again. "I don't know. I didn't think it was important."

"It is very important, this could be a talent that could keep you alive in the arena."

"So should I tell them now?'  
>Svetlana opened her mouth, and then closed it. "No...no. In fact, don't even pick up a spear today. Focus on the things you don't know. Learn how to survive. Learn about plants and hiding. Keep away from all the weapons - don't even look at them. Do the same for your private training score. Make them think you are as weak as they think you are."<p>

"And why would I do that?"

"It's a strategy. You make them think you are weak, you get a low training score, and then when you enter the arena, you show that your true self has been hiding all along."

"How do you even know I'm any good at spear fishing," I question. "I've never compared myself to anyone else."

She took me by the shoulders. "The point is that people think you can't do anything at all."

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><p>I took Svetlana's instructions to heart. As soon as we finished the introduction from Azule at the beginning of training, I walked over to the plants station. I was awful at identifying the plants and animals, but I knew that it would be in my benefit to learn them, so I tried. Out of the corner of my eye, however, I saw a wall of spears. One was sleek, black, and similar to my dad's, which I had begun practicing with when I was ten. Right before he died. I coud feel people's eyes grazing over me, ignoring me, and I had an urge to run over to the spear and throw it, and show them I was something. However, Svetlana's words rang in my head, and I stayed with my plants.<p>

Rone had gone directly over to the other careers, and they immediately welcomes him. The five of them were menacing, their group of hawk eyes watching the rest of us like we were slabs of meat.

Rone was the largest out of all of them, but the boys from one and two had incredibly muscle size also. They were typical career tributes: large man-boys who could kill you with a look. The girls also resembled careers of past years. Te girl from two, Ellia, had pin straight black hair and yellow eyes that bore into your back as you walked. She always had a coy smile on as if you she was planning your murder and, given the circumstances, she probably was. Ellia was handy at every weapon and didn't seem to have a weak point.

Jewel, the girl from district one, didn't seem as menacing as her counterparts. Although she had the same look of war in her brown eyes and an extreme talent in weaponry, Jewel had a sense of kindness about her. Her blonde hair was similar to mine, except that my hair is short and stringy, and her hair is longer and full of volume. Whenever the careers would split up, she would make friendly conversation with the other tributes. I wasn't able to figure out if she was just a friendly person, or if this was some sort of strategy to get herself on people's good sides. She even talked to me once, on the second day of training.

I had just been at the camouflage station, trying to pick up a bit of information, when she walked right up next to me.  
>"You know," she said softly, "I kind of admire you."<br>It took me a moment to realize that there was no one else around, and her words were meant for me."  
>"Why?"<br>She gestured toward the rest of the careers who were trying out the gauntlets. "They think you volunteered because you're stupid. I don't think you're stupid. I think you're hiding something. The way you watch everyone, like you enjoy just observing people. And besides," She smiled, "You've been eyeing those spears."

She left me to go back to her friends then, and I sat at the camouflage station wondering who Jewel really was.

She was correct of course, I did spend an awful lot of time watching people. I noticed the girl from district seven, probably fourteen years old. She didn't have an interest in the stations, and would rather stay in the corner by herself the entire time. Her district partner forced her to get up and go to the stations with him. She had a look of anguish and loneliness in her eyes, as if she had already given up. I wonder what people saw in my eyes.

I also noticed a connection between the girl from district twelve and the boy from district nine. Ever since the first day, they would do every single station together. During lunch they would sit by themselves and laugh and talk. I could see him watching her hand sometimes, as if he was tempted to hold it.

On the final day of training, Azule brought us all together for one last meeting. She warned us about the danger of the games, and said she hoped that we had learned something from each of the stations. Then she asked if there were any questions.

"Yes, can I win this without killing anyone?" It was the voice of the girl from district ten. I didn't know much about it, only that she was very shy and moved herself quietly from station to station.

Azule laughed for what seemed like forever before finally answering: "No."

* * *

><p>In a line we all waited for our private meeting with the gamemakers. I remembered what Svetlana said, and I knew I must keep my image here. I would just show them the knowledge of plants and animals I had built up the last couple of days and leave.<p>

When it was my turn, I stepped into the hall coolly, and went immediately over to the plant identifier. I showed off the memorization I had been building up for the last couple of days. After I was finished, the head gamemaker dismissed me with a simple, "You may go now."

On the TV that night, we watched as the training scores went up. The boy from one, Beau, got a nine. Ellia and the boy Reagan from district 2 got tens. Jewel received a nine. Rone got an eleven.

"An eleven!" exclaimed Umanda, "Oh what did you do to earn that!"

"I just showed them I was a jack of all trades," said Rone smugly.

"Nobody has gotten an eleven in years, we'll be all that anyone is talking about."

My score came and went. A two.

"Well hun, you can't say you expected more," said Umanda trying to fake a somber tone, "You can just hope for the best."

What she didn't realize was that everything was working out perfectly. The Gamemakers had barely noticed me, or cared. Just the way it was supposed to be.


	4. Chapter 4

My prep team was at me again, ripping out any hair that had grown in over the last two days.  
>"Please let me correct your vision," pleaded one of them, "It will be just a small pinch and your sight will be corrected forever and-"<br>"No, please." I respond. "I'd rather not."  
>He frowned. "Fine," he answered in his thick Capitol accent, "But you are wearing contacts again for the interview. Let everyone see those blue eyes."<p>

A couple of hours later, I was standing outside of the interview area. My hair was down and brushed my shoulders. The prep team had put something in it to make it look prettier than it really was. Blue eyeshadow circled my eyes and then faded out. My dress was a simple dark blue with transparent sleeves and a green sash around the waist. I looked pretty, but still very small.

All the other tributes were in the line with me, Rone standing behind me and the boy from district three in front of me. Svetlana walked up to me and gave me a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder. "Remember what I said."

I nodded. While I was dressing, Svetlana had told me to act as the innocent, sad, and weak tribute. If people felt bad for me, there was a possibility of getting sponsors when the citizens found out I had potential to win these games.

Then it was time to go on. All of us were paraded on to the stage and were told to sit in a neat semicircle of chairs. Ceasar Flickerman sat on the other side of the stage with two chairs, one of which he occupied. One by one we would each go up there and have a three minute interview. Looking out into the audience, I could feel my stomach drop. Thousands of Capitol residents sat waiting, and many more were watching on TV screens. What if I messed up? What if I did something wrong? I was suddenly relieved to be in one of the first districts. That would mean I could just get the interview over quickly and not have to stress about it.

The lights went up, the TV cameras flicked on, and everything was beginning. Ceasar Flickerman made his introduction, showing off his canary yellow hair and matching suit, and the audience cheered. It was full of Capitol citizens, of course, with the stylists and trainers occupying the first few rows. He gestured to us, the tributes, and the audience cheered again. I looked for Svetlana in the crowd, trying to find her comforting face. I found her in the second row next to Homora. She gave me a comforting grin. I smiled back weakly, hoping I didn't look too fake, especially for the cameras. Most of the innocent, small little girl I was going to show off today wasn't really me, but the people of Panem must not know that. Today, I had to act like someone I was not, and everybody had to believe it, or else my plan would not work.

Before I had a second to collect my thoughts, the interviews began. Jewel walked up the stage, sparkling in a beautiful white gown that was sleek around her body, cut down at her neck, and glistened with sparkles. She laughed with Ceasar, talking about little things like her dog and funny stories from her child life. She veered away from topics such as the games and killing, something I had never seen a career tribute do before. Jewel could kill, I had seen her chop off a dummy's head with a sword and throw an axe fifty feet to hit a target. Howevver, it seemed as if she didn't want to be known as the girl who could kill. Her district partner, Beau, also talked fondly of his childhood but also left some remarks about being one of the top at his training school back in district one, and how he would do anything to win these games.

Ellia fit more of the typical career interview. Her dress was black with a strike of red circling around and the red, black, and white of her eye makeup made her yellow eyes pop. She was menacing, and wanted the entire country to know so. Reagan from her district tried a similar approach. Both tributes from district three seemed jiterish and clearly very nervous.

Then, it was my turn.

My legs felt like jello as I walked up to the interview area. Caesar shook my hand and I sat down on the bright red chair.

"So, Lottie Wilson," he began, crossing his legs.

"Yes," I answered quietly, trying to give my best impression of a weak smile.

"You're only twelve years old, is that correct? And you volunteered! You may be from district four, but it is true you have never even been to a training camp?"

I nodded. I made sure that I made little to no eye contact with Caesar. Svetlana had told me that this gives the audience an impression that I am anti-social. I instead try to focus my eyes on his hair or on his suit.

"Then what was your reasoning for joining the Hunger Games at such a young age and with no training?" he asked inquisitively.

I shrugged. "I figured the games would be a chance to do something with my life. At home I was always ignored and shunned, and I felt as if the games would help me change that." I looked down, "Nobody liked me much."

There were some faint "aw's" from the audience. Good. They were getting sympathetic.

Caesar switched his legs. "So what do you think your odds are in winning, you know, tying for having the lowest training score?" Tying? I didn't know there was somebody else who had received a two. I didn't pay attention after my score had been announced. I shrugged again and shrank down, trying to make myself look down.

"I can try."

At the tip of my last word, the timer rang out. Caesar and I stood and he grabbed my had. Raising it he said, "Your female tribute from District Four, Lottie Wilson!"

Walking back to my seat, I was unsure of my impression tot he audience. Did they feels sorry for me, or was I too boring? Would this plan work, or did I somehow screw everything up. I barely noticed Rone going up to join Caesar. I took my seat on the side of the stage, and looked for Svetlana. When I did, she was smiling. That must be a good sign.

In an effort to ignore Rone's interview, I decided to entertain myself by looking at my feet instead. I already knew what Rone was going to say anyway. His sessions with Noje and Umanda were not done in private, and I was able to observe them all. He was going to appear tough and ruthless, worthy of many sponsors. There was no doubt that Rone would be able to kill without a second glance.

I sighed and thought about the way district four used to be, the way people loved each other, and even though a career district, people always had a glimmer of light in them. I watched the old games where the district four tributes would be the most hesitant to kill, and were mostly very kind. Twenty-five years ago, District Four had a rebellion, and we had to pay at the hands of the Capitol. This included increasing our Peacekeepers and limiting our freedoms. As if by magic, school children turned from accepting to hating, and tributes went from sweet to murderous and hostile. Less than thirty years ago, District Four was a wonderful place. Now, it was a place I couldn't wait to escape from. Carmella was a rare shining hope in District Four, only to be turned stone cold by the games.

When Rone was finished, I decided to pay a bit more attention to the other tributes to see what my competition would be. The first to stick out to me was the girl from District Seven who had apparently been the one to tie me for lowest training score. She had a dress similar to mine but in a green that blended with her dark skin and illuminated her. She couldn't be older than me, and was probably around my height also. This was the girl who had been forced by her district partner to participate in the training. He either must have cared about her or had had order from his trainers. Either way, it didn't help much. I couldn't tell if she was putting on a show to appear weak like I was, or if she really was weak and fragile. Her dark eyes were sad and looked down. She talked to Caesar about her little sister back home, and how much she missed her entire family. At one point she looked as if she was going to cry, and thought I even saw a tear running down her cheek.

Other tributes to watch were the boy from nine and the girl from twelve, the ones I swore liked each other. They had both received high training scores, and they both had something to win for: each other. I noticed their quick glances toward each other during their interviews, and the way they would smile at each other. There was something there, that could not be doubted.

As the last tribute took his bow, the cameras flicked off, we excited the stage, and were led to our floors so we could rest for tomorrow.

For tomorrow, the Hunger Games began.

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you everyone for supporting the story! I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up, but I'm really excited to write it so it may be soon!<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

I heard the birds flying through the air.  
>I heard their song,<br>and I heard their melody.  
>I heard their pain,<br>and I heard their joy.  
>Joy for life,<br>and joy for love.

I heard the birds flying through the air,  
>and today they were very very scared.<br>Today the birds were running,  
>from what I could not tell,<br>but they had no choice,  
>I saw their fear.<br>Fear for life,  
>fear for love.<p>

I heard the birds flying through the air,,  
>and today they were sad.<br>They sang a song of sorrow,  
>a song that floated down,<br>and touched one's heart.  
>Today the birds were wallowing,<br>and I knew why.  
>I heard their pain.<br>Pain from life,  
>pain from love.<p>

Today there were no birds flying through the air,  
>and how I wish there were.<br>Because when the birds were gone,  
>I am gone,<br>Where the birds go,  
>I go.<br>This is the end,  
>and this is the beginning.<br>There is nothing in the air.  
>Nothing from life,<br>and nothing from love.

For today I will be going,  
>and if I'm coming back,<br>I'm not sure.  
>but in my head I hear those birds flying through the air,<br>and I know what's coming.

For birds die,  
>and birds kill.<br>And birds can't help what happens.

* * *

><p>I dragged myself out of bed the next morning and to the dining room. Although I wasn't hungry and would rather stay in my room until I was forced to leave, I knew that it would be a better idea for me to fill my stomach as much as I could. There was no way to predict when my next meal would be.<p>

When I got down there, Rone was already sitting down. I expect to the see the usual smug grin and to hear his boasts of power, but all were absent. Instead, he sat painfully still, looking at his food as if he were going to throw up on it. He barely noticed me walking in. It was in that moment I realized that Rone, the tribute most likely to win, the best student at the District Four training center, and all-around jerk, could be someone pretending and hiding just like me. But in the end, aren't we all?

Breakfast was eaten silently. Nobody talked or looked at each other, even Noje and Carmella didn't make talk with Rone. there was a feeling in the air, a feeling that made everyone quiet and still. I wondered if this is how it always was with high district tributes. Rone looked like he was a mess, and I felt like I was a mess.

Don't think I'm afraid to die, because I'm not. I remembered the girl from ten, who at training had asked if there was a way to win without killing anyone. With all my heart I wished that was possible. The thought that I could be the one to end someone's life made my heart pace.

"I couldn't do it," I would think, "I couldn't, I couldn't-"

But I could, and I knew it. That was the scary part. Throwing a spear at someone and having it fatally puncture them would be too easy. It was morbid to think in that way, but it was true. In just a few hours, we'd all kill each other. There was no way out of it, and pretty soon twenty three of us would be dead, and if I want to be the one to survive, I probably have to kill somebody.

After breakfast, we were both lead up to the roof where the hovercraft would pick us up and take us to the arena. Rone and I entered the hovercraft alone; we were the first ones there. As more tributes entered the hovercraft after us, a woman came out of the back door with a syringe, which she plunged into Rone's arm. I gave her my left arm. I didn't know if the syringe would disable be somewhat and I didn't want to weaken my throwing arm.

"What is this?" I asked cautiously ask she stuck it into my arm.

"Your tracker," she said, "It will tell us your whereabouts when you're in the arena."

I nodded and glanced at Rone. He was back to his usual self, obviously not wanting to show weakness in front of the other tributes. As the last tribute entered the craft, the doors shut behind him, and we were on our way.

* * *

><p>I was lead into a dark room, where I would spend my last moments before entering the arena. The hovercraft had dropped us off here a couple of minutes ago, and I was going to talk to Svetlana one last time.<p>

The doors opened, and I saw Svetlana sitting on a couch. The Peacekeepers left us. I walked over to the couch and sat down next to us.

"Any last minute advice?" I asked.

She looked into the fire. "Don't participate in the bloodbath. Run away, try to find water, and see if you can make a spear out of something. Hide. Run from the bloodbath and don't look back."

I nodded sternly. She didn't look at me, I didn't blame her. If there was somebody that was most likely going to die soon, could you peacefully send them off to their death either? Svetlana knew I had a chance, but it wasn't extremely high. However, it was uncharacteristic. Svetlana had always expressed her belief in me, and although now was a rather somber time, shouldn't she be making me feel better and giving me advice?

"30 seconds," rang out a voice from what had to be an intercom. I stood up from the couch and walked over to the glass tube that would transport me to the arena.

"What would happen," I asked, "If I just didn't get in it? Would they kill me or would they transport me to the arena by force?"

Svetlana shrugged her shoulders, still avoiding eye contact. "I don't know. Nobody has ever done that before. I wouldn't risk it, though."

I sighed and walked into the opening in the tube. As soon as I was securely inside, the door sealed itself. "20 seconds," I heard ringing above me. My stomach knotted. Looking back at Sveltana, I wish she would do something to make me feel better.

"10 Seconds."  
>And that's when Svetlana looked at me. Or <em>it<em> looked back at me rather.

Her eyes were red now, an unnatural bright red so different from her normal blue. As my tube started to move up, she smiled, and held up a piece of paper that said, "The Firefly is with you, Lottie Wilson."

Before I could react, she was gone. Whatever was going on with Svetlana, or the thing that was inside her, was not my top priority. If I won these games, I could go find out. In my heart, I wished for Svetlana to be alright.

The sudden break of daylight. The first thing I saw was a pizza place. Surveying the area, I realized that this place reminded me a bit of town square at home. There were small shops scattered all over the place, clumps of trees here and there, and there were houses a little far off. Glancing behind me, a realized there was a pharmacy about 300 yards off. That is where I would run to.

The Cornucopa stood in the middle of the street that went through this whole square, with us evenly spread around it in a half circle. I was looking around for a place to find water when I heard it.

The explosion.

Somebody had jumped off their plate early, with still thirty seconds remaining in the countdown. It had happened about five plates down from me. Everybody else had been distracted by the explosion and was looking there also. It was impossible to tell who it was, for there was nothing left. I surveyed the remaining tributes to see who it was, and I could tell they were doing the same. Who wasn't there? Who was missing?

The girl from seven. The girl who had been forced to even try to participate in training. The girl who had matched me in training scores. Had it been an accident? No. She wasn't stupid, she knew the rules just like the rest of us. It had been intentional. She had walked off that plate knowing exactly what would happen to her. The thought made me feel sick, but there was no time for that. The timer was almost up.

5  
>4<br>3  
>2<br>1  
>0.<p>

While everybody charged forward, I turned around and ran backwards, toward my target: The Pharmacy. I told myself to not look back at the bloodbath, but what if there was somebody chasing after me or getting ready to attack me? This could save my life.

I turned back in time just to see Reagan kill the boys from ten and eight simultaneously with a knife. Disgusted, I turned my head back around. I didn't want to see that. When I reached the pharmacy, I tried to open the front doors. Locked. Peering in through the windows, I realized there was nothing in there anyways. The entire building was empty. The windows were probably unbreakable glass too. Realizing I was still in clear view of the Cornucopia, I turned back. It was far away now, but I could still see the fighting. The bloodbath could last anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours. There was a street behind the pharmacy, a street covered with trees concealing some houses. I headed over there, thinking it would be a good place to hide for the time being. When I got there, I realized it just wasn't this little street. There was an entire maze of houses and trees, with green lawns and gazebos and mailboxes. I tried my hand at one of the doors. No luck. I ventured off into the streets of intersecting neighborhoods, trying to get as far away from the initial Cornucopa as I could. Occassionally, I would pass an opening where I could see a small part of main town, but mostly I was journeying in the suburbs of trees and houses. After a couple of hours of this, I heard the cannons of the dead finally go off. ten.

A couple of times, I ran into the mutts of the arena: Dogs. Fortunately, they were all gated in or tied up like pets. It was hard to notice they were mutts at first, I in fact almost pet one before I realized that every single one of its teeth were pointed in such a sharp, unnatural way. Somebody might mistake the dog for a normal one and try to kill it for food but instead get killed themselves.

When night started to fall, I buried my self in a pile of leaves next to a tree in a clump of woods. It was unlikely anybody could see me. At one point, laying in the dark, I could hear voices far off. I didn't know where they were or who they were, but I heard them. After a while, it was silence again.

At around what I presumed was midnight, I saw the Capitol Emblem in the sky followed by the National Anthem. The dead tributes followed. The boy from three. Both from six. The girl from seven who had killed herself. Both from eight. The girl from nine. The boy from ten. The girl from eleven. The boy from twelve. Who was still alive? All of the careers, naturally. The boy from nine and the girl from twelve who liked each other. Even the girl from ten who had asked if she could win without killing anyone at training.

I sighed and closed my eyes. In the morning I could go looking for water and food. For now, a rest would be more beneficial for my end.

The sound of a cannon woke me up in the early hours of the morning. I tried to go back to sleep, but then I saw the hovercraft. Whoever had died had not been far from here. I saw the body being airlifted, and I recognized it. With horror, I realized it was Rone. What had killed Rone? Who would have the capability. I could imagine the betters and sponsors in the Capitol, most of them getting screwed at this moment. I covered myself up with the leaves again, knowing that where Rone was, the rest of the careers followed. They might come over here.

I was right, in a few moments, I heard footsteps, and soon, voices. I prayed that they wouldn't uncover me.

"It is not my fault," growled a voice I recognized to be Jewel, "If I knew that dog was a mutt and poisonous I wouldn't have let him kill it. You were there as much as I was."

"He'd listen to you rather than me," snapped Ellia back, "Now we've lost our strongest team member."

"Relax, women," said a voice I recognized to be Beau, "He was our biggest competitor too. Once it was down to just us, he would be the hardest to kill."

Ellia sighed. "I guess so." I heard them sit down, "Who do we have left?"

"There's nine other out there besides us," answered Reagan.

"I'd make the girl from five our biggest priority," said Beau, "She looks strong and she killed the girl from nine at the bloodbath."

"Why would be listen to you?" asked Ellia. "You didn't kill anyone at the bloodbath."

"What does that have to do with anything?" said Beau, raising his voice. "I was too busy getting supplies and making sure the boy from six didn't kill you."

"You didn't save me," muttered Ellia.

"Yes I did! If I hadn't pushed you out of his way his knife would have hit you. Instead it hit the girl from his district."

I could almost hear the smile on Ellia's face, "Yeah, and he was so distracted from accidentally killing his own teammate Rone was able to kill him."

"Exactly," said Beau.

"So who else do we have to look out for," added Jewel.

"The girl from twelve and the boy from nine," answered Reagan, I saw them heading toward the north. We can get them later. I saw the girl from Rone's district come down here..."

I froze.

"Who, Lassie?" I heard Ellia retort, "She wouldn't be much to worry about."

"Her name is Lottie," said Jewel softly, "And I think she's smarting than we're giving her credit."

Ellia yawned. "Whatever. Let's camp here for tonight. I don't think anyone's around. Jewel, you take watch."

"Why me?"

"Because I said so.

* * *

><p>When the first stroke of sun struck through the night, I finally got the courage to lift my head from the leaves and look around. I covered my hand over my mouth and quickly shrunk down into the leaves. There, twenty feet in front of me, were the career's. I braced myself, fearing they had seen me, and then realized they were all asleep. Jewel must have dozed off while on guard. This might be my only chance to escape. Or steal something.<p>

I stood carefully from my pile of leaves and cautiously walked over. They had tons of bags from the Cornucopia with them, along with a good hand of weapons. I grabbed a bag containing some food, water, and iodine, their lone spear, and a loaf of district four bread that was probably meant for Rone.

With my new supplies, I ran into the north for the morning.


	6. Chapter 6

Can we take a break  
>sometimes<br>and pretend that we aren't us  
>for<br>a little while

* * *

><p>It had only been minutes since I stole from the careers and started running when I heard the cannon. Another one, far off into the distance. The kill, couldn't have been done by the careers, for I saw them all sleeping just moments ago. Perhaps it was one of the tributes from five who had killed, they had both received high training scores. I didn't stay to ponder long, for the cannon might have woken up the careers, and they weren't far behind me.<p>

I kept running through the woods until I came to one of the back roads in the arena. Houses were lined up and down, all with their own lawn ornaments, mailboxes, and driveways. The only things missing were cars. I tried my hand at opening some of the doors. Even my spear couldn't break through the windows or the wood paneling. It was no use, there was no way to get inside any building in this arena.

The road waned on for what seemed like hours until I got exactly what I was looking for: a stream. Quickly, I ran over and splashed the water on my face. The temperature in the arena was slowly rising, and I didn't want to waste the water in my canteen to cool me down. I replaced the few sips I had already taken of my canteen with stream water I had cleaned with the iodine. Leaning against the tree, I took a bite of my bread and tried to focus on the word around me.

Everything around here seemed so calm, as if there was nothing wrong, and it really was just a nice day in a random suburb in a random place. The birds chirped and sang much like they did at home. I closed my eyes and imagined that I was home at the beach, with the seagulls squawking above me and the tide coming in to tickle my toes. I imagined the feeling of the brushing my dress against my calf and the heat of the sun on my face. I was there. In my mind, I was home.

Even though I knew this wasn't true, and somewhere in this arena, maybe not very far from here, there were children killing children, I tried not to think about that. There aren't many things you get to enjoy in life, especially when you're me. Especially when you're here.

Suddenly, I was startled by the sound of footsteps in the distance. In less than I minute packed up all my things and ran the few meters back into the woods. Unfortunately, that is where the footsteps were headed also, and they grew progressively louder. I found a patch of trees closely growing together and climbed up one. I held my breath and hoped that the approaching people hadn't seen me, and wouldn't see me. I was lucky, I was perfectly concealed beyond some branches so that if they came into my view, I would be able to see them, but they wouldn't be able to see me.

"How long have we been walking?" came the first voice, the voice of a girl. I knew who it was immediately. She walked into my vantage point, her brown hair flowing behind her. The girl from district twelve, the girl who had something with the boy from nine. He was probably with her, close behind. I was right, and he soon came into my view, following soon after the girl. "About five hours," he answered.

She groaned. "How large is this arena?" She was small, very small, and obviously very weak. Her leg had been injured somehow, for there was a bandage with some blood spots wrapped around her calf. I could see her green eyes from here, sparkling and striking. However, there were large black circles unde them, and her cheeks were sunken in and sickly. This girl was sick.

He shrugged his shoulders. "It may be large, but for some reason we all run into each other. Only today we've seen two groups of people. It's weird, it's like there's something out there that is subconsciously bringing us together..."

"Or maybe it's just a coincidence," said the girl, laying down her backpack.

"I don't believe in coincidences, Carla," said the boy. He looked around. "How much bread from the bloodbath do we have left?"

"Not much," she answered, "I'll go get some water from the stream we just saw, we're running out of that too. Maybe we can stay here for a while, it doesn't seem like anyone is around. And besides," she said, zipping down her jacket, "It's getting really freaking hot. I need a break, Micah." she said, panting, "Just for a little while."

Micah did not object, but said he should get the water from the stream while she rested. I moved my face out of my looking place in the leaves and turned around. I could kill them so easily. Throw the spear at Micah, take on the already weak Carla with a knife easily. But I didn't. I couldn't.

Behind me, the trees were so close together you could easily jump from one to another. The branches spread out and made a wall of leaves covering the inner layer of the tree. There were a few small holes here and there, one being the opening I used to spy on Micah and Carla, but for the most part I was concealed in a world of leaves. This would be a nice place to stay, if only for a little while...

"Micah, we have to start talking," came the voice of Carla below. "About...what's going to happen..."

"What do you mean what's going to happen?" He answered.

"It's the Hunger Games. But there's two of us."

"So?"

"So! Eventually something is going to happen! We can't both win."

"I don't want to talk about this. Besides, two have won before."

"Once! Micah listen-"

"No."

"Micah-"

"No! And that is final. Go to sleep."

"It's the middle of the day-"

"We can cover more ground at night. Go to sleep."

I heard a suppressed sigh from Carla. The ground below me went quiet. I closed my eyes and breathed strongly through my nose. As the sun sank in the sky, the temperature went down again. The sky was starting to darken when I heard the cries from below. The cries belonged to a boy, the boy named Micah. What it must be like, meeting someone you learn to love so much, knowing that you can't both make it out alive. I've never felt anything like that for another person-only the love for my parents. I can't even begin to imagine what it must feel like. Micah cried on, and he tried to stifle his sobs, but to no avail. Eventually, he started talking.

"I have never met someone who I could immediately love. I didn't think it was possible. So if this does happen, doesn't it mean something? She's got these eyes that twinkle when she laughs, and hair that flows side to side when she walks, and a smile that could light up the darkest room. She can do so much for this world, and can be loved by so many people. If anything, she would be able to leave here and make the world a better place. Please, please, don't to this to us, don't to this to her. I'm begging you, if anything, let her live."

Praying. That's what he was doing, he was praying. I've never been religious, I never saw the point. The shadows grew darker, and the light grew dimmer. Micah's pleas stopped, and my eyelids got heavier. I couldn't go to sleep, it wasn't safe up here in the tree...

The sound of the Capital anthem startled me awake. Rone's face flashed in the sky, followed by the boy from eleven. How had I not fallen off this tree? I wasn't secure, I could have easily fallen off while sleeping. I guess I could thank my lucky stars for that one. I crawled over to my vantage point to see if Micah and Carla were still there but...It was gone. In fact, this wasn't the same tree! I had fallen asleep on one branch, and had woken up on another. At first I thought it was one of my memory blips, where I could forget days at a time...But that was impossible, I had just seen Rone's face in the sky, meaning that he still had died today. I've never sleepwalked in my life, and I'm such a light sleeper that nobody could have moved me...

Then it came. The memory. The pain. I reached my hand up to my head, to the place where the rock had hit me. I barely remembered it-the person coming up behind me, the arrows...But somehow I made it out alive...How could that be? I don't remember faces, just that there was more than one person there...

Could they still be here?

I looked up, down, and all around me. It seemed as if I was alone. If this was true, it didn't help the fact that I had no idea where I was. Grabbing my backpack and spear, I climb down the tree and on to the ground. The moon is in the sky, and in the distance I can see a few houses. I head over there, found a comfortable place to sleep between a fence and a shed, and dozed off.

The heat of the sun burns on my face and wakes me up in the morning. I should probably get up, eat a little, and find somewhere to hide. However, I don't budge, and decide to stay still for a little. There is only one way to win this game, and that is to kill. I only remember one tribute in the history of the games that won without killing anyone. Her name escapes me, I think she was from my district. The girl from training comes to mind, a miracle she hasn't been killed yet. I have to kill if I want to make it out of here alive. There is no other choice, there is no other way out.

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice something int he distance. I sit up to notice a trail of smoke in the sky, most likely from a campfire. I've seen this in other games; tributes are lead to one another from the smoke from fires. If I follow the smoke, I find the tribute. I clench my spear.

Time to give in.

The smoke came from the northeast. It wasn't too far away, and it wasn't long before I got to the fire itself. About a hundred yards away in a pile of leaves and twigs it burned gently, licking up into the sky. There was a fire, but there was nobody around. Who had made this fire and left it unattended? It must be...

A trap.

Before I can ride, hide, do something, the arrow comes whizzing at me. I dodge at the last second, and the arrow grazes my ear. I look up to see Ellia, standing high on the branch of a tree.


	7. Chapter 7

When I was younger, after one of my worser memory blips, I woke up in the school playground. It had been a week since my last memory. A week.

I had thought it was so terrible, with all of this time gone in an instant.

Now I wish for a moment like that.

* * *

><p>The fire is in a large clearing in the woods, and I'm right in the center of it, vulnerable. I had walked into a trap without even thinking of any other possibilities. I had seen people do this in previous games, and even when I saw the clearing was empty, I walked right to the center of it. Ellia was high on a tree right on the edge where the forest broke out into a clearing, opposite to where I entered.<p>

Before I have any time to react or run, another arrow is shooting at me. Dodging at the last second, I attempt to make a run for it, but it's useless. Ellia has the best leverage. I could run for miles, but she could easily trail me at this point. She has already begun climbing down the tree. Despite my dismal chances, I sprint towards the way I came in, bag and spear jingling on my back. My spear! I could use it somehow, throw it back toward her while I was running...But would it be worth it? I was running helplessly, and if I missed, I lost my spear.

At this point, I'm only halfway out of the clearing. Ellia is down from the tree, and is preparing an arrow. I can only hope she misses. As I take a sharp turn toward the left, I notice something. Or someone.

I wasn't the only one to fall for the trap.

From the other side of the woods line, not far from Ellia's tree, I see the tributes from district five emerge, and from where I was going to exit came in Micah accompanied by Carla. They could kill me. I could kill them. I should try to do something, defend myself at the very least. However, in my attempt to get away from Ellia in any possible measure, I just scream.

"RUN!"

I turn over my shoulder to see the tributes from district five have retreated immediately. Micah and Carla, only about a hundred yards ahead of me at this point, hesitate for a moment, but then run back where they come in. Micah had a knife on him, he could have easily thrown it at me, seeing how I was flailing in the open. But he didn't. By the time I got to the woods line, Ellia was charging at full speed toward me. Apparently, her first arrow had missed. That was dumb luck. I wouldn't get lucky twice.

I enter the forest.

I dodge, trees, twigs, bushes and plants trying to get out of there somehow. Ellia wouldn't be far off behind me at this point. I'm so discombobulated that when I come to a small cliff, I don't even notice. Before I know it, I'm rolling down hill, hitting my head and body on rocks all the way down. The drop off leads to a small area with a pond and a couple of trees. Still unable to stop myself, I roll into the pond.

My first instinct is to swim to the other side of the pond. Peering my head out above the surface, I notice a rock jutting out from the center of the water. Since I practically grew up on the beach, it doesn't take long for me to swim over to it. Once I get to the rock, I glance over at the land, and I see, in a tree at the bottom of the grove, Carla and Micah. They saw me, obviously, but they did nothing. In my moment of exasperation, I give them the same benefit, and turn my attention back to the rock. I figured I could hide behind it in case Ellia came down to the area looking for me. I pushed my back up against the rock, closed my eyes, and tried to control my breathing. I didn't know how close behind me Ellia had been, and if she had seen me fall into the grove.

A scream interrupted my thoughts. This scream was not a scream of pain, or even fear. This was a scream of anger, a scream made by Ellia.

"Where the hell did she go!" I heard her yell, the sound echoing down. "She wasn't far ahead of me, she couldn't have climbed down there-"

"Calm down Ellia," I heard another voice belonging to Reagan say, "Somebody could hear you!"

"Who cares?," She replied, still frustrated and angry, "She's gone! We should have never underestimated her. Jewel was-"

"Jewel was what?" I heard Jewel's voice pop up, "Jewel was right? Oh, the stupid Jewel, the stupid blonde Jewel was right? Let me hear that again Ellia, Jewel was what?"

"Jewel if I hear you talk again I swear on my life I'm going to punch you in the face" Ellia responded. "You made one good point. That is all."

"Why don't you just respect me? I could win this just as well as you. Reagan and Beau could win this just as well as either as us, and you make them follow you around like they're your little slaves."

"I don't need this from you," I heard Ellia's voice darken even more, "Just shut up and-"

Ellia's voice stopped suddenly. What had happened? Could she see me?

"Don't even try to move sweetheart," I heard Ellia yell.  
>I peered out from behind the rock. I wasn't sure if Ellia was talking to Carla or me, and if she was talking to me, there was no point in trying to stay hidden.<p>

But she wasn't talking to me. Jewel, Reagan, and Beau made a semicircle around Ellia, who was staring from the cliff down into the grove. None of them were looking in my direction. Ellia's eyes were geared onto Carla, who was still in the tree to the right of the pond. Micah wasn't with her anymore, I don't know where he had gone to, perhaps another tree. Carla tried to scramble herself, but I knew what was coming. Ellia was the best archer in the training center. I moved my head back against the rock, not wanting to see the inevitable.

* * *

><p>In those moments, I was not a part of myself. I wasn't myself. I wasn't Lottie.<br>Lottie could hear Ellia launching her arrow, and she could hear Carla scream, and fall.  
>In a state of shock, Lottie kept her hand over her mouth to keep herself from screaming.<br>Lottie heard another arrow whizzing. She didn't want to know where it landed.  
>She didn't want to know if Ellia had found Micah as well.<br>Lottie faintly remembered watching Ellia walking away, and she remembered her crew following her. She remembered the tears in Jewel's eyes as she turned.

I, on the other hand, was numb. Gone.

* * *

><p>I got back to myself a few minutes later. With Ellia and her crew gone, I dare to fully expose myself from behind the rock.<p>

Carla was face down on the ground, with an arrow sticking out of her back. I hadn't hear the canon yet, could she still be alive?

I start to swim to shore, my mind still blank and my head still spinning. In a daze, I prop myself onto the ground and start to wring the water out of my backpack. Some food was ruined, not all of it, and my spear was okay. Cautiously, I stood up, wrapped my backpack around my shoulder, and made my way down to where Carla was.

Once I got there I knew she was still alive. I could see her body barely moving, twitching slightly, as she lay face-down on the ground, and an arrow sticking out of her back. This is not what I wanted, I didn't want to see her die twice. I was about to get the hell out of there when I heard a voice. Her voice. Muffled, slow, and weak. But there, present.

"Please," I heard her groan, "I want to see. Move me so I can see."

My father once told me that if anyone was injured severely, that I shouldn't move them. I should call for professional help. I guess in this situation it didn't matter. She was going to die, and there was no professional around that would be willing to help her.

I used my strength to prop her up against the tree, at an angle where the arrow would not hit it. There was a second arrow, broken at this point, implanted in her chest. Her mouth was full of blood. As for me, I was conflicted. The smartest thing to do would be to run, but part of me couldn't let this girl be alone in her final moments. So, blocking all of my natural instincts, I sat down next to her.

"I should have gone with her..." She murmured quietly, "The girl..."  
>"What girl?" I asked.<br>"The girl...Micah went with her...But I thought I was safer in the tree."  
>"What girl? Where did Micah go?"<br>She turned to me slightly, and as she saw my face, her eyes filled with sadness and horror. "I'm so sorry, little blond girl...He didn't mean it."  
>"What are you talking about,"<br>"Last night. At the tree. Don't you remember?" The voice didn't come from Carla's mouth. Rather, it came from behind me. "I saw you in the tree, and I tried to kill you."

I turned to see Micah standing behind me, knife in hand. "I hit you with a rock, and then the girl showed up...The same girl from today. She grabbed you and ran away with you...She was fast...I couldn't find her..." He rubbed his head.

Suddenly I remembered. I remembered seeing Micah behind me, and the pain of rock again. And this morning. I woke up in a completely different tree. But I didn't remember a girl. I must have blacked out.

"And then she tried to save me, after you rolled into the lake, and before Ellia showed up, she came again. She told us there was a safe place that we could go. I went. Carla didn't." He walked past me, and then fell to his knees. This was the first time I could see the tears in his eyes. "I'm so sorry," He said to her, "I'm so, so sorry."

"Shhh," she said, smiling, "It's okay. This'll be a good death. I'll be ok. Like God."

I saw the life fade from her eyes. I saw her body go limp. I saw her die. The grove went dead silent. I didn't notice how loud the birds were until they stopped singing.

I expected Micah to do a lot of things. Go into shock. Cry. Get angry. Kill me. Instead he did the one thing I couldn't imagine.

He kept talking to me.

"Find her.." He said, "I don't remember what district she was from...I don't remember. But find her. Please. The Girl. She will help you."

* * *

><p>"Don't you hear the beautiful birds singing, don't you Lottie Dee?" said my father, "It's only a bad day when the birds don't sing."<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

** Hi everyone! Just here to say that there is a change of POVS in this section...(It's labeled). But this starts off as Lottie. **

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><p>The Girl. Who was she, a tribute? She had to be, there was nobody else in here, after all.<p>

I stood there for a moment, completely silent. Silently, the birds stood and watched, as if Carla's death had forced them into silence. Micah was still slung over the dead girls unmoving body, his hand still clutching her lifeless hand. He looked at her with such intensity, as if he just waited long enough, he stare alone could bring her back to life.

Of course, nothing of the sort happened. Her long, brown hair that had seemed so beautiful before was now caked with blood.

Micah was bent over, facing away from me, completely vulnerable. I could kill him, I could kill him easily. My hand reached for my spear, which was with my pack on the ground. However, I stopped it. Why was it so much easier to kill a fish than a human being? Possibly because we can't identify with a fish. As for as we need to know, fish are not like us at all. Fish are food. Never once in all my years of fishing did I think that is was wrong or inhumane. You don't go to jail for murdering a fish, you go to jail for murdering humans.

_Except for here_.

I shuddered. Micah was still absorbed over Carla's dead body. Before he had time to reach a raging point and attack me, I picked up my bag and slung it over my shoulder, and placed my spear in my hand. There was a small path at the other end of the clearing…I could follow that, and then just maybe try to find the girl Micah was talking about. The girl who had saved me.

If I could find her, which honestly seemed unlikely. Tracking the path of a fish was easy for me, I knew how they moved, how they reacted, and I was always one step ahead of them. However, I knew nothing of this girl. I didn't know how she walked, traveled, or where she might spend the night. Micah hadn't even given me a physical description so I could pinpoint which tribute it was. Over the days in training, I could match each tribute to district, and a few to name.

I contemplated asking Micah what The Girl looked like, but before I had a chance to, I saw a figure at the edge of the clearing, right over Micah's head.

Beau. I recognized his bleach-blond hair and large muscles, along with the white shirt and tan pants he had worn into the arena. With his right hand, he was holding onto the strap of his brown knapsack. He was armed too, with a knife within throwing distance of me and Micah.

And he was prepared to throw.

"Micah!" I yelled, trying to warn him of the attack. Right as Micah looked up my spear fell out of my hand. It was leveled incorrectly and fell backward. I leaned down to pick it up. I grabbed the spear swiftly and threw it with horrible aim, in a desperate attempt to just do something. Because of this, the spear landed straight in Beau's right shoulder. He took a few steps backward and then toppled over sideways, but I knew I did not kill him. As he fell, I noticed that something was missing.

His knife was gone from his hand.

I looked down to see the knife in Micah's chest. He had fallen sideways. I had been so busy trying to pick up my spear and throw it that I hadn't even noticed that Beau had thrown the knife.

I bent down next to him, clutching his hand as he had done to Carla. Honestly, I wasn't sure why. He wasn't my boyfriend. We didn't know each other. He tried to kill me the other day, for crying out loud. But part of my realized I didn't have another choice. The position of where the knife was lodged, the lack of medical equipment….This kid was going to die.

A kid. Why would I call him that, he was four years older than me at the very least! But that's what he was, as he sat helplessly, the light in his eyes trying to desperately hang on as he bleed and his body failed him.

Yes, he had tried to kill me. But who was I to talk? I had come close to killing him several times…And what choice did either of us have? What choice did any of us have?

I saw as his eyes moved to Carla's, and he was able to make one, barely audible whisper.

"Strong girl…." He breathed, using all of his strength to reach to her with one of his arms.

The light left his eyes, and his arm fell. The cannon must have boomed, but I didn't bother to hear it.

The slight noise in the distance caught me, however. The sound of the hovercraft coming to collect the bodies. Quickly, I stood up. As a last gesture of kindness, I closed both Micah and Carla's eyes. In a haze, I ran off. I had gone too far when I realized I left my spear inside the soldier of a still-alive Beau. It was too late to go back and get it, Ellia and her crew could be there by now. Grudgingly, I squandered on, Beau still hanging in my mind. If nobody came for him, he would surely die from blood loss.

I tried to retract the guilt I felt, the guilt that ate at me from my heart, to my brain, and to my very hands that had thrown what could kill him. _But he killed Micah_, I thought, trying to convince myself that what I had done was okay. _And there were most likely more in his pack. He was going to kill you_.

It didn't help though. The sickness stayed with me, and when I heard another cannon, knowing that it was most likely Beau, I threw up behind a tree.

* * *

><p><strong>Jewel's POV<strong>

* * *

><p>Ellia was starting to get antsy.<p>

"He's been gone too long. I should have gone with him, or at the least sent one of you two!"

Beau had gone back to the clearing a while ago to finish off the girl from district twelve. We had heard a canon and presumed it was her, but still he had not returned. Me, Reagan and Ellia were all sitting in the backyard of some random suburban house on some random suburban dead end street.

"Calm down," I said, opening a package of crackers. At this point it was late afternoon. We had wanted to go back into own and get into the other side of "Suburbia Land" (This is what Ellia referred to the arena as) by sunset.

Ellia kicked a rock into a shed. "I'm going back to get him." Ellia's long black hair had been pulled into a ponytail, which she readjusted just about every chance she got. Her yellow eyes, which I thought were fake when I first met her just because of how bright they were, pierced through everyone and everything she looked at. The girl always had a sense of intensity about her. Maybe it was because both her parents and all of her older brothers are peacekeepers.

This was one of the few things I knew about Ellia's personal life, one of the few things she allowed people to know. I knew she was the only girl in a family full of boys. I knew one of her younger brothers used to stick their mother's jewels up his noise (a fact she told me when I introduced myself to her). I knew that at only 16, she was the best out of everyone at the district 2 training facility.

On the counterpoint, she knew plenty of things about me, and about everyone basically. She knew my favorite color is white and that I favor an axe as a weapon (one that was not supplied at the cornucopia, just to my luck). She knows that I'm an only child and that I was the first to volunteer for the games after a twelve year old girl named Shine was chosen.

I guess the more you know about a person, the easier it is to kill them.

As soon as Ellia started to leave, another canon fired in the air. Reagan and I stood up quickly.

Ellia groaned, "Perfect."

We all gathered up our belongings and started walking back to the clearing. An unspoken communication and understanding fell upon all of us: something was wrong with Beau and we all needed to go back.

Soon enough, we saw a hovercraft above us, most likely going to pick up a dead body. At this point we ran, wanting to see what was left of the mess before it was gone.

When we entered the clearing, the first thing we saw was the craft lifting up two bodies from the tree near the pond. The first body was a girl, probably the one that Ellia had hit. The second was a boy I didn't recognize.

We were so distracted by the dead bodies that we didn't see Beau, standing maybe only fifty feet away from us. A spear was sticking out of his shoulder. All three of us ran toward him, me and Reagan with words of concern, Ellia with words of scrutiny.

"What the hell have you done!" she screamed running toward him. "What happened?"

Beau was choking on his own blood, but somehow he was able to talk. "The girl-she was already dead…" he muttered, "Boy and other girl with her...Small…Blonde girl…"

"Charlotte?" Ellia asked.

"I think it's just Lottie," I corrected.

Ellia turned to me, "That's stupid."

"She threw the spear," Beau continued as I crouched down next to him and tried to help or support him in any way that I could. "And then she ran off."

"So she stole our spear," said Ellia, examining the object sticking from Beau's shoulder. She went to grab it.

"Wait," said Reagan, "You're not supposed to remove an object when someone is stabbed; you're supposed to wait for medical professionals to-"

"Does it LOOK like there are any medical professionals around her waiting to help us?" Ellia gestured toward the empty field. She gripped the spear and pulled it out of Beau.

"AHHHHHHH," screamed Beau as Ellia removed the object. "You've already had significant blood loss, and there's high damage down to your shoulder. It doesn't look like we have any choice here."

"What do you mean we don't have any choice?" asked Beau, still wincing and gasping in pain.

"Yeah what do you mean?" I asked, turning sharply to her.

"We don't have the provisions or time to fix him up," She explained coolly. "He'll just slow us down, and we just can't let him sit and wait it out until he dies. Somebody else might come along and he could tell them our plans."

"Excuse me?" I asked, shocked.

"I wouldn't do that-"Beau interjected.

"But we don't know that. I am taking necessary precautions," she said, slinging her bow from around her back and grabbing it. "We can't leave any footsteps behind us, and we can't spend our time trying to fix you. I'm sorry, but you're useless," she explained while picking an arrow from her quiver.

"Ellia, what you are doing is wrong, there are other ways-" I shouted.

"This is the only way! We have to be careful! Just the smallest slip up could cost me-us!" She started to aim her arrow. "He'd be dead soon anyway. I'm just going to speed up the process." She said. "Put him out of his misery."

"Stop trying to justify what you are doing." I yelled back.

She pointed the arrow at me. "I could easily hit you as well. Now shut up and let me speed up nature." She turned and pointed the arrow at Reagan, "And don't you try to do anything either."

Reagan stepped back and looked away.

"Necessary," said Ellia again as she pointed the arrow back at Beau's head. He closed his eyes, trying to prepare himself for what was going to happen. She released the arrow, and the canon boomed around them.

"Necessary."

* * *

><p><strong>Lottie's POV<strong>

* * *

><p>Beau was not on the back of my mind, he was the only thing on my mind. As I walked through the woods and back roads aimlessly, my thoughts were all geared toward him. The fact that he was most likely dead right now. The fact that I had caused it. How I was now left weaponless, not knowing where I was.<p>

My mind was dizzy, and I had a light-headiness that I could not shake. It got to the point where I was stumbling down some street, wishing that Ellia would pop out from the woods and kill me. I found myself out of breath, and my mind kept racing, repeating itself. Images of Beau, what his family must feel like….I wondered if he had siblings, or a girlfriend…My thoughts consumed me, and every bit of sanity I could still cling onto.

I guess I started hallucinating when I reached what was probably a mock high school. The building stood up three floors, near a sports field and a large parking lot. I swore I could see Ellia from one of the windows, waving at me, smiling a sinister smiling, as if she knew something horrible was about to happen to me. I knocked on the window, but it was unbreakable. The doors were bolted shut as well, just like every other building in this fake town. Of course, Ellia wasn't really in there. She was just a figment of my imagination…A trick my own mind played on me.

I continued on a path that went into the woods behind the school. Eventually, it lead to another sports field, where I saw my aunt standing in the middle of it. Her brown hair was pulled back into a bun and she had on a red lipstick. She wore her normal blue pantsuits. _Mavi _I thought, suddenly reminded of her name. As soon as she saw me, she made a face as if she was disgusted and turned away. I walked on.

Back in the woods, I saw Jewel sitting by a tree. She was sharpening a piece of wood into a point: a makeshift spear. She eyed me keenly. "Keep on going," She whispered, before returning to her work. She was the first to talk to me.

The sun was beginning to see, and the woods were getting darker, and more eerie. I didn't seem to care, still loopy and still seeing things that weren't there.

The path opened up to a park, with a small pond, gazebo, baseball field, and jungle gym. Carla and Micah were swinging on the swings together, happy and smiling. However, the blood from the last time I had seen them had not disappeared. They were as they were when they died: Both covered in blood that matted their hair and made their clothing stick to their skin. They didn't seem to care, or even notice. Horrified, I ran across the field to the woods at the other side.

I ran through the woods until I saw the outline of a recognizable figure. When I got closer, I realized I was seeing Svetlana, my stylist. How long had it been since I saw her? Only a couple of days? I was happy to see her, until I remembered what happened the last time I saw her. The red eyes.

"_The Firefly is with you, Lottie Wilson_"

Like her movements were aligned with my thoughts, she turned around, her eyes the same bright red from our last encounter. "The Firefly is with you," she said in her accent, "The Firefly is with you Lottie Wilson."

Terrified, I turned around and ran back to where I had come from. The bloody Carla and Micah were better than seeing the woman you trusted turn into something…Something you don't even know is human.

When I got back to the park, Carla and Micah were gone. I could feel my eyelids getting heavier, and my feet dragging on the ground. In a desperate attempt to find somewhere safe, I made my way to the gazebo.

This is where I collapsed, finally, on the banks of another pond. How many freaking ponds can a fake town have? The last thing I felt before falling unconscious were two arms around my back.

And this wasn't a hallucination.


	9. Chapter 9

`I woke up in an unfamiliar room.

Judging by how high up the windows were, the grass paneling the small screen, and the whole grimy, underground feeling of it all, I was in a basement.

The room was large; I could imagine it as the cellar of a banquet hall or school. My pack was resting against a pole, and a white robe was folded underneath by head, probably as a makeshift pillow. There were two staircases, one on the far left of the room and one on the far right. Near the far right there were two other small rooms that looked like bathrooms. Besides that and a few more poles, the room was completely empty. I was wondering how I got here, or who even brought me here when I realized something.

I was in a basement.

I was _inside_.

There wasn't supposed to be an inside to anywhere here. Every house and building in the arena was impossible to get into. Suddenly, I got to my feet, and a painful throbbing entered my head. Bending over in pain, I placed my hand over my head to feel a large bump. _Strange_. I thought, _I don't remember getting this_.

What I did remember didn't give me that many clues. There were the hallucinations, and the arms grabbing me before I passed out on the ground. Who could that have been? Could that have been the person to bring me here? To this basement? What if the arms grabbing me were just part of the hallucinations themselves, what if it wasn't real at all? However, it didn't match up with everything else I saw. All the hallucinations, well what I assumed were hallucinations, were only seen and heard, not felt. Nobody else had touched me.

Once the pain in my head had subsided a bit, I grabbed my pack from the pole. Everything was still there, except my water had been…Well…_Filled_. I was pretty sure that it was half empty the last time I saw it. There was also a bag of berries at the bottom, something I didn't remember. I recognized the berries from training when I spent my time learning how to identify poisonous and dangerous plants and animals. Blackberries, rare in district four just as most fruits were after the agricultural drought, were safe to eat. Who had put them here?

I slung my bag over my pack and checked to see if I could get through the windows. It was to no avail, as they were too high up for me to even reach. The wall was solid cement, and impossible for me to climb. I stepped back a bit and tried to see what was outside. I could see other buildings not far off. What looked like a post office and a coffee shop stood out to me. There weren't many houses around, so I was far away from the endless labyrinth of houses and sidestreets. Wherever I was, I was in or near the main part of the town. Near or on the same street that the cornucopia had been on. Near Main Street.

At the moment, I only had two options. One: stay here and wait it out. Two: Take one of the staircases and go upstairs. Whoever had brought me here hadn't killed me yet, which meant that for some reason, they wanted to keep me alive. If whoever this person was upstairs, I doubt I would be killed. Grudgingly, and with seemingly no other choice, I made my way toward the stairwell on the far left.

I noticed the musty smell of the basement, and the coldness of the railing. There wasn't any heating in this building either, which wouldn't be a good thing if the temperature in the arena was to drop dramatically. Studying this fact, I went back and grabbed the white robe that had been my pillow. Right now the temperature wasn't cold enough to kill me, but who knows why I might need this in the future.

Cautiously, I made my way up the steps. At the top there was a door, and I clenched the handle in my hands, carefully opened the door and found-

* * *

><p><strong>Jewel's POV<strong>

* * *

><p>"Over a day!" yelled Ellia, "Over a day and we haven't come across anyone." She turned to Reagan. "Who is still alive?"<p>

Reagan pulled out his paper where he had been keeping track of the deaths. "Besides us, there's the girl from three, the girl from four, both from five, the boy from seven, and the girl from ten." He smoothed the paper out, "So there's six left."

"So there's six too many," said Ellia, charging forward. I could have sworn I heard her mutter "Eight too many," under her breath afterwards.

We hadn't come across anyone since Ellia killed Beau, which Reagan and I were still pretty shaken up about. It was never in our plan to kill each other so soon. Obviously, we knew it had to happen at some point, but we assumed that until all the other tributes were killed, the only threat on us would be external forces.

Who knows why she even kept us around. She could kill both of us easily and survive on her own.

After a while, Ellia stopped and turned to us. "I'm thinking we should get to the other side of the arena. See if we can find the girl from three. She didn't look very strong, and we haven't seen her over here so far."

"What about the girl from ten?" asked Reagan.

Ellia shook her head, "I could have sworn I saw her…Through some trees…" she shook her head again, this time as if trying to erase a memory. "I say we focus on the girl from three. And better avoid the kids from five for now. I'd rather take out someone weaker than risk our lives and time on them. See if someone else or natural causes can take them before we do." She tilted her head, "Maybe feed them to the dogs," she added as an afterthought. "I'm going to play it safe until we eliminate as many smaller threats as possible."

"What about the boy from seven," I asked.

"I haven't seen him. He's probably on the other side too."

"And Lottie?" asked Reagan.

Ellia rolled her eyes. "She's lost her weapon. One of the mutated dogs can eat her with the tributes from five for all that I care. She can't last it out here on her own, no matter how talented she thinks she is."

As highly as I thought of Lottie, I knew what Ellia was saying was true. She couldn't survive alone for much longer. As far as I knew, she was somewhere slowly dying at this very moment. There wasn't much I could do; staying with Ellia was the best thing I could do for myself right now. If I tried to break away at this point, she could easily kill me. Ellia was also a skilled tracker. If I ran away in the night, she'd find me by morning. And attacking Ellia was also useless, her fighting skills were far more advanced than mine and Reagan. Even if the two of us were to approach her together, we wouldn't have a chance. This girl spent every waking hour of her life preparing for these games, and two kids without their own weapons of choice wouldn't be a threat to her.

* * *

><p><strong>Lottie's POV<strong>

* * *

><p>A church.<p>

Well, I guessed it was a church. I had never actually been inside a church, but I had seen pictures of some in school books when we learned about religion. However, this church was completely empty except for a few pew seats. The walls were furnished with stain glass windows, and the architecture mimicked the Roman Catholic, but besides that, there was nothing. Most of the seats were missing, the altar was completely blank, even missing a cross, and there weren't even any rugs or tiles on the ground.

Very lastly, there was a girl sitting in a pew. I recognized her instantly: the girl from district ten. She had asked during training if it were possible to win without killing anyone. She had not noticed me yet, her eyes glued on the blank altar. Maybe I could even sneak past her and get through one of the doors at the back without noticing. However, when I took a step forward, the ground squeaked from under me, and her eyes darted to my location.

"Oh," she said, relaxing after identifying me. "It's just you. I was about to check on you in a few minutes."

So this had been the person to save me. She made no immediate movement to attack me, or even defend herself. She just sat there, looking at me.

Her short, light brown hair was pulled into a ponytail, and even from this distance I could see her hazel eyes, the colors sharp and profound. _Green surrounding a circle of brown_ I noted. Scars, probably new, covered her arms and a few parts of her face.

Because she seemed content sitting and staying silent, I took the liberty to ask the next question. "How long…How long have I been asleep?"

"About a day and a half," she answered simply, refocusing her eyes on the altar. "You fainted in the park on Thursday night. It's Saturday morning now."

So she had been keeping up with the days. I hadn't even bothered since I came to the Capitol. "Anyone else die?"

"Just on Thursday. The boys from One and Nine, and the girl from Twelve. I don't know if you knew about those. None yesterday."

The confirmation of Beau's death brought out the sickness in my stomach that was there before, the one from Thursday night. At this point, I didn't care how she had gotten us into a building when all the buildings in the arena were closed. I didn't care why. I just wanted to be alone. I didn't even want to kill her, still sick over my thoughts of Beau. I was going to turn to leave when I noticed a tear sliding down her cheek.

_Don't do it Lottie. You are in an arena full of kids trying to kill each other. Now is not the time to be compassionate._ Like always, however, I ignored my own conscience.

Reluctantly, I walked over and sat down next to her, even though every thought in my head was telling me to _get the hell out. Who cares if she is crying? Leave. She could still kill you. This could be part of her plan._ However, I didn't listen. She had a day and a half to kill me, and I didn't think she would change her mind now.

"Lottie," She began as soon as I sat. So she knew my name. "It's my fault they're dead, Micah and Carla. I should have tried harder, I should have tried-"She broke down in sobs, her hands covering her face.

Micah and Carla.

This girl had tried to save them.

Tried but failed when Carla refused to go with them, tried but failed when Micah left her to go back to Carla.

This girl had even saved me before…This girl had not only saved me once, but twice.

I had set off looking for The Girl, thinking that she would never come, and here she was, sitting next to me, sobbing.

When her sobs had subsided, I asked the question that had been nagging me at the back of my mind. "How did you get in here? I thought all the buildings were locked?"

She looked up at me, still sniffling. She had to be at least 17, but with her eyes red and the tears running down her face, she looked much younger. "Most of them are. This church is far enough from the cornucopia that people would have already given up on trying to open doors. I didn't I guess. I don't believe in god, this doesn't change anything about that. All it means is that someone does." She fell into her tears again, shaking.

I sucked in a breath. It was possible this wasn't the only Church, or the only other place of higher worship in the arena. If this was open, maybe the others would be too.

"Why?" I asked, simply.

She turned to me. "Why what?"

"Why save me. Why try to save the others. All but one of us is going to die, you can't possibly save everyone forever."

She turned her attention back to the altar, "I can damn well try." The tenseness in her shoulders went away, and she looked down, "You can do it now."

It was my turn to be confused, "What?"

She blinked slowly, "Kill me. Might as well. You've got one of the best chances of winning this. Me? I don't have anything. I'm just a stupid girl hiding in a church."

_Why not _was the first thought that entered my brain, the second being a _yeah right, you'll be dead in an hour without her._ This was true, she had saved my life once, probably twice. Throwing a spear well didn't get me this far; she did. I had come into this competition thinking I knew everything, but here, I came to the realization that I knew nothing. And I had lost my spear when I killed Beau.

"No," I answered swiftly.

She quickly snapped her head toward me. "No? Why?"

"Honestly, I need you. I'd been dead if it weren't for you." I looked at her scars. "Did Micah give you all of those when you rescued me the first time?"

She held up her arms to examine them. "Some. Most are from the district five tributes, I've ran into them a couple of times-"

"You fought off the district five tributes? More than once? Their scores were as high the career tributes!"

She put her arm down, "I've been doing a lot of heavy lifting my entire life through work. I'm stronger than I look. Also, my boyfriend is part of some martial arts club, and he taught me a few things. The fives have a reliance on knives. I have quick reflexes, so I can dodge them when they throw. It's nothing really."

I glanced down at her arms. Only now did I see the definition of muscle, before masked by the sweatshirts she wore in the arena. If someone was going to stab her with a short knife, she could easily overpower them. One of the biggest forces in these games had been hiding directly under everyone's noses the entire time. And I had her sitting right next to me. If she had been from a career district and had gotten private training, she could have won this game at the age of twelve. And how old was she? Seventeen? Eighteen?

"It's a lot," I answered quickly, "Please, work with me. Together, we could make it through a lot. Please?"

She looked at the ground, "I'm not going to be able to kill anyone, I'm useless."

"You're far from useless…" I trailed off, realizing I still didn't know her name. "What can I call you?"

She looked up and smiled a bit, "My name is Silver. Silver Winnings."


	10. Chapter 10

**Jewel's POV**

She was scared.

Of course she was scared, why wouldn't she be scared?

Reagan had found her first, hiding underneath some stairs of some house. All he needed to do was follow a trail of blueberries that had probably fallen from her hand as she made her way back to her hiding place. Ellia had been right about the other tributes hiding on the other side of town.

"Do you want to kill her, Ellia, or should I just get it over with?" he asked, holding the girl by the collar of her jacket. She was small, with mouse-brown hair and sad eyes of the same color. Some berries and herbs sat in the corner, and I realized she had no other supplies. She probably didn't get anything at the Cornucopia, or didn't even try. I recognized her immediately as the girl from three. Honestly, I was surprised she wasn't trying to fight back; she had put up good marks in training. She just sat there, tears running down her face, "Please," she pleaded, "Do it quickly-"

"Reagan, hold onto her for a moment," instructed Ellia. She grabbed my shoulder. "Follow me, I need to discuss something with you."

She guided me over to the other side of the yard, near an old swing set. "I think we should keep her alive," She proposed.

I stared back at her, stunned. Where was the girl that had so nonchalantly killed Beau, our friend and ally?

"Why?" I asked, "She may have had a high training score and is handy with some weapons, but she was stupid enough to leave a trail. She would be a danger to keep around." I couldn't believe I was saying the words I was saying, explaining why it was in our best interest to kill a human being.

"Just hear me out," she said, rolling her eyes, "She could fight well if she had weapons and encouragement. We could use her as bait, as our lookout. If someone is after us, it will be her first."

"And if I disagree to using someone as a human barrier?"

She made a side glance to the bow and arrows on her back, "Well I don't really need you around her either."

Why discuss it with me if I didn't have a choice.

We made our way back to the stairs where Reagan was still holding onto the girl, who was now sobbing and convulsing.

"Let her go, Reagan," Ellia ordered, "We're not going to kill her."

He looked confused but released his grip on the girl. She fell to her knees, exasperated, her sobs growing slower. She only looked about fourteen years old.

"What's your name, sweetheart?" Ellia asked in a sweet tone of voice I've never heard her use before. She leaned down so that she was eye level with the little girl.

The girl sniffed and looked up, "Gadgetta. My name is Gadgetta."

"Well, Gadgetta," Ellia said while taking the girls hand in hers, "I think we could really use you."

**Lottie's POV **

"So you're saying that you fought off those kids from five by yourself? That's unbelievable," I remarked while packing my bag with some of the food and supplies that Silver had collected.

She shrugged. "I guess I was lucky."

"That isn't luck, Silver, that's talent." I zipped up my bag. "Silver, huh? That's an unusual name for someone from district ten. I could see it on somebody from one, but ten? Don't you guys like, raise cattle?"

She smiled, "My mother makes jewelry, so she works with different types of metal all the time. My younger brother is named Sterling." Her smiled quickly faded. "I wonder what's he's doing right now."

Changing the subject, I brought up my theory about the churches. "Do you know if there are other places of worship around the arena? They could be open too, if this one is. There's a chance we could hide there if something happens and we can't make it back here for whatever reason."

She shook her head. "I've traveled around here a lot; this is the only one in the entire town. Well, fake town."

I nodded, honestly disappointed. If we were on the other side of town and needed to hide quickly, we'd have no advantage. "So what's the plan?"

"Well, uh, my plan so far has been looking around, trying to help people I guess," she changed her focus to her own bag, "The boy from seven looked really weak, I gave him some water, but her refused to go with me." She sighed, "I knew he would try to kill me if he was well enough, but I think he was injured, and we could help him…"Her voice got very quiet, "Unless you really don't want to do that-"

"No, I think it's great," I coughed, remembering the boy from seven, how he had forced the young girl with him to go through training. How she had jumped off the plate, eager to end everything before the games even started. He must have been close to her, and I didn't want to know what that pain for him must have felt like. "Do you know where he was?"

Her eyes lit up, happy that I wasn't immediately shooting down her suggestion. "I took him under one of the bridges north of here. That way he could get water without moving. I think his leg was hurt. The water was safe, I knew that because I had tried it myself. I also left him some food I found…"

I remembered the iodine sitting in my backpack and felt its weight, suddenly aware that people have not had the same luxuries as I did.

"We'll go to him," I assured her, "And make sure he's okay."

**Jewel's POV**

Sunlight hit hard on our backs and we walked along the streets. Gadgetta followed closely behind, Ellia's pack on her shoulders. The noon sun was relentless, and after a while I felt the back of my neck feel hot.

"Ellia, who had the sunscreen?" I asked, not wanting to have to deal with the pain later.

"It was in Beau's pack," She stated. Reagan carrying Beau's bag, and he tossed me the sunblock. I didn't enjoy putting on the sunscreen and walking at the same time, but Ellia was certain that we keep going. We were heading to the northern side of the arena, according to her compass, a part that we hadn't explored yet. When we got to a bridge in the center of town, she stopped, looking around.

"What are you doing?" asked Reagan, "Wasn't it you that said we had to keep moving or-"

"There's something odd," she noticed, "Something very odd…" She sniffed the air. "What's that smell…"

"I don't smell anything," I said, annoyed. "We should keep going if-"

Ignoring me, she turned around in a circle, examining the area. "Why does it smell like blueberries if there aren't any blueberry bushes around here?"

"What are blueberries?" I asked, now extremely agitated.

"They are non-poisonous berry that I know very well," she explained, "My dad used to eat them all the time, coming home with packages of the stuff…" She sniffed the air again. "There must be some here somewhere…Look around, you three," She announced, gesturing to me, Reagan, and Gadgetta."

"Ellia, we have plenty of food-"Reagan tried.

"Just. Look. Okay?"

This was it. I was seriously going to kill her. If anybody got to kill Ellia in these stupid games, they had the greatest honor in the entire world.

I examined the trees on the southern side of the bridge, and Gadgetta the north. Ellia stood still, her eyes closed, while Reagan walked to the water. After a few minutes, I saw him disappear under.

"Hey Ellia, get here now!"

"Did you find them?" Her eyes had flown open.

"And more!" He yelled.

The three of us made our way to the water and under the bridge, following the sound of Reagan's voice. When we get there, we can't believe our eyes. Bushes full of dark berries line the ground before the water. Ellia was right after all. And there, right in the midst of it, was a boy with a bandaged leg, looking very, very scared. He was trying to get away, but he couldn't use his legs and could barely crawl. Reagan pinned him down to keep him from moving.

Gadgetta and I were shocked, but Ellia just shrugged. "Take care of him quickly, Reagan," She ordered, and turned her attention to the blueberry bushes. She quickly began piling the berries into an empty bag. Just give him a couple of stabs, he'll bleed to death eventually."

"Wait," pleaded the boy, "Wait, I can-"

Reagan proceeded to carry out Ellia's orders, and the boy's screams filled the air. Gadgetta started crying again, and I guided her away from the scene. Ellia filled her bag with berries, and then moved on. We all left the boy, still screaming, and slowly dying, without turning our backs.

**Lottie's POV**

We heard the screams and both had the same thought.

Instead of following the back alleys, because they were safer, we both made it to the main road and made a beeline toward the bridge. As we got closer, the screaming got louder, and we both knew who it was.

Underneath the bridge, in the midst of blueberry bushes, was the boy from seven, covered in blood. His screams had grown weaker, and he was barely moving.

Silver rushed to his side immediately. "Hey, hey, hey, you're alright, don't worry, it's all going to be okay. You're fine. You're fine." She held his hand. I merely stared.

"It was, it was the careers," he coughed, "And girl from three…" he eyes stared into the bridge above him. "I'm sorry, Ida." He stopped breathing, his body grew slack, his eyes glazed over, he died.

Silver clutched the body in her hands. "No, no, no!" Tears started falling from her cheeks. "If we had been a little quicker, we could have saved him, I could have saved him."

Ida. His district partner who killed herself. His last breath devoted to her.


	11. Chapter 11

**Lottie's POV**

"There's nothing you could have done," I said, in an attempt to calm her down. "Nothing at all."

"If we had left sooner, if I hadn't taken so long packing up-"

"Silver. It's not your fault."

She paced back and forth. We had finally managed to get back to the church after seeing the boy from district seven die. "This always happens, no matter what I do, they always end up dead." She turned to me. "Except you." She ran up to me and grabbed my shoulders. "Lottie, whatever you do, promise me, that you'll keep yourself alive."

Her hazel eyes stare into mine. "I promise," I said, knowing very well it could be a lie. I just need to get her off of me.

She released her grip and went back to her bag, which was lying on the floor. "Who is left now? Just the careers and the girl from three and...And you should avoid the fives if you ever come across them, they for sure won't just listen..." She winced, as if remembering her encounters with them. "Unless you have a spear and you can get them from afar, don't do anything."

I nodded. "So where are we going now?"

"To the north of town, past the bridge. We didn't see whoever kill-killed the boy...The careers and such. I have no idea why the girl from three is with them, she's very small..." She shook her head. "Anyway, that's where I'm going. You're going to be staying in here until you need to."

"Excuse me?" I say, shocked. "We're in this together now."

"You'll be safest here," She explained. "I can do what I can, but it would be best if you stayed here and ate the food. Don't leave unless you run out. Understand?"

"No actually, I don't understand," I raise my voice, "You can't expect me to just stay here alone, waiting it out until everyone else is dead, while you go on some sort of self-sacrificing mission-"

"Woah, who said anything about a suicide mission?"

"Well you never said you were coming back!"

Silver's face fell. "I don't have another choice. I can't go back home a murderer. I can't live my life like this."

"So you're expecting me to?" Silver's voice may have gone quiet, but I was still yelling. "Do you think I want to go home, to live with an aunt who ignores me, with people who have never bothered to learn my first name? To live with the shame and memories of this place all of my life? Is that what you think I want?"

"I couldn't do it!" she cried. "I couldn't. I know I can't. But other people," she whispered, "They're better."

Without another word, she flew out the front door to the church, and I ran after her.

**Jewel's POV**

We hear Gadgetta's cries first, just like Ellia said we would. She had been on lookout a safe distance away. We told her that if anyone was to ever hurt her, that she should do her best to scream as loud as she could, and we would come and try to save her. What the poor girl didn't know what that that was a lie.

Within an instant, the three of us are on our feet and racing in the opposite direction. I think of what Gadgetta must be thinking, waiting for us to save her, and how we will never come. I shake the thought of my mind. I can't think of her. It will weaken me.

We've only run a couple hundred yards when we see her. Smiling, leaning against a tree, sharpening her knife, is the girl from district five.

"My partner and I hardly ever approach our prey from the same angle," She said, standing up straight. "We lose all sorts of oppertunities."

As a cannon sounds in the distance signifying Gadgetta's death, she lunges towards us. Ellia gets her bow out and shoots, but the girl ducks to the ground and the arrow whizzes above her. Reagan and I run after her, but she throws her knife at him, hitting him square in the chest. I can't let this district me, and as Reagan falls to the ground I pull one of my own knives out of my pack. She does the same. Ellia reloads her arrow and shoots again, this one narrowly missing the girl's ear. I throw my knife, but it also misses, and lodges itself into a tree. I hear another cannon, probably Reagan's, right at the point of impact.

I reach for another knife but it isn't in the pocket, I must have left them somewhere else in my pack. Stupid. I think I'm done for, as the girl is ready to throw my knife. I begin to dodge to the side, and then see I don't need to.

Ellia has shot an arrow right in the girls head. A third cannon is heard throughout the entire arena as the girl from five drops to the ground, dead.

"Nice shot," I say as walk to grab the missed knife from the tree.

She nods. "Thanks." She walks around, trying to retrieve her arrows. I pull my knife out of the tree and turn around just in time to see the boy from five running from behind Ellia, who is bending down trying to pull the arrow from the dead girl. He has two knives in his hand, ready to throw.

"Ellia, watch out!" I yell as I throw, without hesitation, my knife. It lands directly in his chest, and he fells, and a fourth, final cannon of the battle sounds.

**Lottie's POV**

Four cannons, only spread apart by a matter of minutes. Four. There's only four of us left now, only two besides me and Silver.

She's running far ahead of me now, and I'm racing trying to keep up. If she's trying to lose me, it's not going to work. She can't force me to stay inside the church.

Night has fallen, and the sky is almost completely dark. In only a few short hours, we'll know which two are still alive.

"Silver, please just stop," I yell ahead. "There's only two others left! They could very well be the two from five, and even you said it wouldn't be a good idea to approach them! Let's go back together, and see who has fallen! Then we can make plans. Together."

She finally stopped, turned around, and walked back toward me. When she got close to me she whispered.

"What are you doing? Somebody could have heard you yelling and now be coming here!"

"I needed you to stop."

She sighed. "Alright. We'll go back. But I can't guarantee anything."

We made our way back to the church and had some berries and crackers from our packs. When we heard the anthem start to play, the two of went out to the back porch where it would be less likely for us to be spotted.

The boy from two was the first to appear, followed by the girl from three. Even though she was older than me, my stomach still dropped when I saw her, seeing how young she looked. After that, both of the tributes from five appeared, and then the sky went black.

* * *

><p><strong>Hi! First author's note in a while. Ok, so sorry about how this chapter is a little shorter than usual. It's just that there were four entire deaths and I wanted some sort of space. Also, sorry for about how bad the action scene is, I'm not used to writing those. But I guess the more practice the better I'll get! :-) Anyway, the story is almost over, only about two more chapters and then an epilogue, so prepare yourselves. Also, I might have some plans for a sequel. Maybe.<strong>


	12. Chapter 12

**Lottie's POV**

We go to sleep after watching the tributes in the sky. I find a corner near the stairs, covered in some robes, and Silver opts to sleep right in the middle of the aisle. We didn't discuss anything. At this point, even that could wait for the morning.

We start discussion when we wake up. Plans for where to go, when, but not talking about what would happen when we ran into other people. The girls from districts 1 and 2, Jewel and Ellia, were the only ones left, and they would not be easy to beat. We both knew that. We also ignored the looming fact, that there were only four of us left, and still only one of those could survive. It seemed unfair. Couldn't we just stop now? Twenty people were already dead, wasn't that enough? Haven't the people already learned enough lessons for one year?

Silver swears she saw a fire escape on the back of some building. Probably meant to mimic an apartment complex or something. About ten stories high, we should be able to get some clear view of the arena from up there. Possibly spot the other two tributes and know where they are before they even see us.

"What other choice do we have?" asked Silver. "Just sit here and wait?"

It was true, what other choice did we have? If the remaining tributes didn't eventually find us, hidden up in our little church, then they would die eventually somehow and it would be left to just me and Silver, and neither of us wanted to be in that situation, even though it may still happen. If that situation did come up, we didn't want to think about it now. What we would do...Who knows. I didn't. I was pretty sure she didn't. For all we knew, it wouldn't have to happen at all. That was most likely. The other two girls were so much stronger, so much more powerful, so much better at killing. Even if we could manage one, the other would surely get to us. The most likely ending was that Silver and I would both be dead before the day was over. But we didn't talk about that either.

I had made myself a new spear from a long, sturdy tree branch I had found, presumably knocked off by some wind. I used Silver's knife that a five had thrown at her and she never used to make the end into a point. It wouldn't work as well as the spear I had before, but it was better than nothing. I felt my dad would be proud of me for this, and that thought almost made me smile. Almost.

Going into what could only end up being some sort of battle with no plan of who you are going to kill or even if you can kill anybody sounds frightening, but it was really just the opposite. We pretended it wasn't happening, because if it didn't, it might destroy us. If neither of us was willing to just shoot the other in the back when they were turned around now, how could we do it later? Of course, there was the fact that another person would be helpful in fighting off Ellia and Jewel, two against two was always better than two against one.

Would I kill her now, if I didn't think she could help me survive against the careers? Would I?

We set off finally at what I thought was noon. The sun hung high in the sky, and yet the air was cold. Not a good cold, like the cold of the sea breeze in the evening, but a deathly cold, a cold that stayed static in the air. The cold that burned you. When people think of hell, they think of fire, but I'm pretty sure that hell burns cold.

At this point, we walk right down main street, along the sidewalk that I had chased Silver down only last night. I shivered, and then blocked the glare of the sun from my eyes. How could the sun shine that much, yet barely give off any heat at all?

The end was coming. I could feel it.

We passed stores, stores with pictures of pizzas and cupcakes on them, yet with nothing inside. We saw barber shops, so masterfully detailed from the outside, but on the inside, there was nothing but an empty room. Parking lots, some with fresh yellow paint waiting for cars, and some looking old and dingy, presumably on purpose. Ice cream stands with no ice cream. Car washes with no water. Stoplights that flicked from green to yellow to red in an even rhythm for all the cars that weren't there and never would be 's fast food places and even a post office, but they were all just molds, just boxes. I wondered how I had never noticed these things before. No. I knew why I had never noticed these things before. I had been a bit busy trying not to die, knowing any minutes that the other 23 people in this arena that would kill anyone in sight could find me and murder me at that moment. What I was unclear of, was why I was noticing these things now.

We were almost halfway to the building Silver had been talking about when we heard the cannon. Sharp, striking into the morning air. I turned around. Far off into the distance, I saw smoke, rising up as a column in an air. Probably from a small fire. I could go back there. It would make sense, the last alive tribute, whether it be Ellia or Jewel, was probably around there somewhere. We could do this faster. However, I remembered the last time I had gone after smoke, and turned back around. I knew my chances weren't good, but I didn't want to give myself an even more dismal chance than I had before. Silver kept walking toward the building. I kept following.

Today, there wouldn't be any waiting it out for the night to see who had died this time. Ellia or Jewel, it didn't matter. Jewel might show some sort of remorse, but at the final three, even she wouldn't hesitate to kill. Ellia, if she was still alive, was probably trying to find us right now. No point in prolonging the inevitable, especially when she obviously had the upper hand. We all knew that.

The scene was set, the game would be over in a couple of hours, and at least one of us would be dead. But Silver and I just slowly and surely walked toward the building, as calmly as before.

**Jewel's POV**

"So who is left?" Ellia asked me. After the fight, we had taken supplies from Reagan, Gadgetta, and the two five tributes and gotten out of there. Since we hadn't been able to find any other tributes in the northern part of the arena, we decided to move to the west. We had found another patch of woods and decided to stay there for the time being.

I shook my head. "Reagan always had the list. I couldn't find it in his pack when we took all of his valuables. Let me think."

Our group, one that had started out as five, had dwindled down to two. We killed the fives, Gadgetta was dead, we killed that boy from seven...All that left was.

"Lottie, from four," I said, "And that girl from ten. Do you remember her name?"

Ellia shook her head. "No. And it's really not that important. Those are both low profile targets. I can't believe I'm-we're this close...Start a fire, will you? I'm hungry and it's getting cold. Why is it getting so cold in the middle of the day? I liked it better when it got really hot. At least I could handle that. Anyway, those two wouldn't be able to track us from that, and even if they did, it would allow us to kill them easier. They'd bring themselves right to it. Go ahead, make a fire. We might as well be warm."

I nodded, and collected some wood. In a few minutes, I had made a decent fire. I didn't realize that I had left my pack on the other side of the small clearing we had set up camp at until I realized I had stopped hearing Ellia moving around behind me.

Slowly, I turned my head, and saw her bow and arrow pointed directly at me.

"What are you doing?" I asked, "We still have two more people-"

"Don't try to play games with me Jewel," She interjected, "We've all watched other Hunger Games. We all know they end the same way. The remaining careers have some final battle, each of them prepared after killing the last poorer district tribute. I'm not taking my chances Jewel. I can handle four and ten alone."

This is it. I've done it, I can only plead for my life now. I'm sorry mom, wherever you are. You're going to be so disappointed, I've just failed you again. Why even try? Well, she'd probably be even more disappointed if I gave up. So I took in a deep breath, and tried as best as I could. After all, for some reason Ellia hadn't shot yet. I didn't care what that reason was, all I was concerned about was the fact that I was still breathing. "Ellia, you know how you saw that district 10 girl in the trees? Well I saw her too. She fought off those fives, she didn't kill them, but she fought them off. And if Lottie has her hands on another spear-"

"I'm pretty sure I have the upper hand here either way," Ellia responded simply.

Why doesn't she just shoot already. There's nothing I can do, I'm weaponless.

Wait.

Am I weaponless?

I see one of the logs of the fire right in front of me, one of it's ends in flames. "If you throw it hard enough, could it at least hurt her?"

_There was no time left, Ellia wasn't hesitating anymore. In the next few seconds, a blonde girl grabbed a flaming log and threw it behind her, all while rolling to the right in what she thought was a futile attempt in dodging death, and a brunette girl launched an arrow, standing still, expecting completely nothing, and a cannon did sound._

* * *

><p><strong>oh. wow.<strong>

**TBH I wasn't planning on writing that until like right before I wrote that...Yeah.**

**Yikes. Only one more chapter and then an epilogue...oh. **

**AND I do have plans for a sequel, if you guys want that. I'm not saying a lot, only that I'm trying for something different, and it's going to take place around the Hunger Games after this one (99th) and yes there is going to be a relation.**

**So thanks so much for following this story for so long...I'll see you hopefully next week. **


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey! I wanted to post this at the beginning because I didn't want to lose the mood of the ending with this message...Yeah. So I was getting a little bit emotional after writing this, because this project has been about two years running. A lot of rewriting and reworking and the chapter parts are done...It's amazing. I know this fanfiction isn't too long, but it is the longest thing I've ever written.**

**This is the last chapter, but it's not the last part. Stick around for when I post the epilouge. (So the story isn't over folks, just the chapters are.)**

**Um...So enjoy :)**

* * *

><p>Breathe in.<p>

Breathe out.

You're almost there.

Dont shout.

Open your eyes,

to see.

Life is there ahead of you,

pick the lock. Take the key.

Gasping yells

and sleepless nights,

don't matter anymore.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

What could you lose?

Nothing more.

* * *

><p><strong>Lottie's POV<strong>

I could see it.

That building, we weren't far from it now. On the bottom floor, what looked like a fake tanning salon, butcher, and coffee shop. Above it, about ten floors of what looked like apartments. Silver had said there was a fire escape leading up to the roof on the back. As far as we knew, this was the tallest building in the arena. With a birds-eye view, we might be able to see who was the last one left, or at least see if they were in the area. There looked as if there was a ledge we could hide behind. If so, we could wait in hiding and see the enemy coming, long before they saw us. We would be invisible. For once, I felt like I was going to have the upper hand. For once, I would not be the weakling, I would be the predator. But did I really want it? Did I want to have it with Silver still around, next to me, with as much as an advantage? Did I really want to become a predator, or hunter at all? Should I walk up those steps, and take my chance, or should I just end it all now. Just try to find a way to end it all now. If only I could. If only I had the guts to stop.

If Silver shared any of my thoughts and apprehensions, she didn't show it. A few steps ahead of me, she walked forward silently, her shoulders arched back, her pack swinging against her waist. There seemed to be an air of confidence around her, but based on what I knew about this girl, it seemed to be totally false. Either she was hiding how she felt, or was ignoring it entirely. I could learning from this advice.

Finally, the building was upon us, stretching high, looming over the square of businesses and parking lots surrounding. Far behind the building, right near the edge of yet another forest, was a rather large post office. When we got to the back of building, there indeed was a fire escape, along with a cream door on the bottom floor, presumably for whoever was supposed to live in the apartments above to get into their homes. We knew it would be locked, but we checked anyway, Silver turning the metal doorknob and sighing.

The gate of the fire escape was locked, but easily we both climbed over and started ascending. This was it, the final outcome. We would make it up there, the two of us, watch, and wait. Anything else that could happen would have happened at this point. It was over.

Or so I thought.

We were about halfway up the building, climbing the stairs, when I turned to see her at the edge of the woods, right next to the post office. When Silver noticed I wasn't moving she stopped and saw the girl too. And she was us, and was moving quickly. Her hands and most of her body were covered in a red smur that I could only identify as blood, and an object in her hand glimmered from the light of the beating sun. It was probably a knife. There was no hesitation, there was no strategy. Besides her knife, she had nothing else with her. No pack, no supplies, not even a jacket in the freezing cold weather. There seemed to be a bandage around her shoulder, though. This was the endgame, and she knew it. As she got closer, I could see the red blood dried in what was once beautiful blonde hair.

Jewel.

Silver and I climbed down a floor. At this point, Jewel was almost upon us, and it would be impossible for the two of us to get down and get away. Our advantage was already gone, but we climbed back up the staircase, nowhere else to go. Whatever was going to happen, it was going to happen at the top of the building.

**Jewel's POV**

Steps.

Feet.

Cracking against the pavement, jumping over patches of grass and dodging telephone poles.

Knife.

Hands.

Grasping for dear life.

My shoulder.

Wounded.

Where Ellia's arrow had pierced me, but not killed me.

Burn.

Arrow.

Where my log had distracted Ellia so that I could pull that arrow right out of my arm and stab her with it. The cloth I had taken, wrapped my shoulder with, screaming terrors into the night.

I don't remember it much. I don't even remember now much. Just running. If I noticed my bandage falling off now I forget about it in a few seconds.

Just cracking.

Just blood.

Just pain.

My mother had always wanted me to do this. She had made some unsuccessful volunteers as a teenager, always beaten out by someone else. Next thing she knew, she was nineteen and all her chances were up. I was the sole child. This was my duty, ever since I was born. She was so proud when I got up there on that stage, so proud.

**Lottie's POV**

By the time we had reached the seventh floor, she had reached the fire escape and had started climbing up. We could hear her weight clanging on the metal below us, moving much faster than we were. By the time we made it to the rooftop, she was already on the eighth.

I backed up to the ledge, turned around and looked over. Everything seemed so far down, so far down, so far down, so far down-

"Lottie!" yelled Silver, "What are we going to do!"

"I don't know-" I stammered, "So far, so far..down..."

She glanced around. "You go over there, to the right ledge, and you to the left one. She cant get both of us at once...She only has one knife."

I nodded, stalking my way over to the right while Silver rushed to the left. I turned back around to look at Silver. I didn't want to look at the dropoff anymore.

"Just hold on, it's going to be okay," assured Silver.

As soon as she had uttered those words, Jewel had reached the top. I could see her more clearly now, how unkempt her appearance had gotten even since the last time I had seen her. Her hair was mattered with blood, her brown eyes both dazed and menacing. Her right arm was out and bent, clenching onto the knife. Her left arm sat unmoving, and it was then that I saw the wound in her shoulder, not far above her heart, how most of the blood was collected there. I wasn't sure how much of the blood was hers, and how much of the blood could be someone else's. What had she done to kill Ellia? How?

**Jewel**

One step forward, two steps back.

Where did my bandage go? The blood is started to leave again, won't be long now.

I'm sick mommy, oh so sick, save me mother will you?

I can see them barely, the girl from ten, picked on her last year eligible, and the girl from four, volunteered on her first. How could I do this to either of them, mother? You never had to kill anyone.

One knife, mother. I'm sorry. I'm running.

**Lottie**

It takes a couple of seconds before I remember I have my makeshift spear in my hand. I prepare myself, and she sees me. She also sees Silver on the other side, completely defenseless. All of her weapons are in her pack, and she doesn't have time to dig them out.

If she goes after Silver first, I can throw this when her back is turned, and that would be it. I'm surprised at how easily the thought comes to my head, how easily the idea of killing is able to sit with me. How prepared I am to murder.

But Silver doesn't do that, as I suspect she wouldn't. She turns toward me, and charges. I'm surprised why she doesn't just throw her knife, and I throw my spear a bit prematurely. It flies past her, but she is disoriented. I run toward Jewel, with a quick glance to the side to see Silver rummaging through her pack, looking for her own knives. By the time I get to Jewel, she's at the corner between the front and right ledges. At this point, she seems to be in a better frame of mind, and she throws her knife. However, I am anticipating this, and I dodge to the left, though a little too late. The knife finds itself in my right arm.

One.

Two.

Three.

I want to scream, cry out, or maybe even cry, but I can do anything. I hear Silver screaming on the other side of the building. There's only a moment left to react when Jewel glances down at her wound. Her bandage had fallen off at some point, and she started losing a lot more blood, I could see it running down her shirt. She stumbles, and then falls backward over the side of the building. Instinctively, I run after her. I'm able to catch her outstretched right arm, but her weight pulls me over, and at the last minute I grab onto the ledge with my free left hand. I'm hanging over the side of the building, the ground a hundred feet below.

I scream into the day. I'm holding onto Jewel's dead weight with my hurt arm. I can't see over the ledge and see Silver, but I know she's running toward us now.

I know everything is happening so fast, but it feels so slow.

**Jewel**

Why did I run, why didn't I just throw?

Why did I condemn myself, why not try?

Maybe it's because I really did want to die.

Life is fluid, continuous, until it's not.

And right now, it's almost-

_gone._

**Lottie**

When Jewel's cannon goes off, signifying her death, her weight simultaneously becomes heavier in my hand. It's just me and Silver now, no more enemies one the outside. I could easily just let go of Jewel's dead body, let Silver help me up, treat my wound, and I would be okay. I would still be alive. There's no time left to save anybody, heck, there's nobody left to save, but I would be alive.

But what after? It's just me and Silver left after all. Just me and Silver.

I feel my legs drift over the free air, and I look down at the ground below me, so far away. For some reason, it doesn't seem as scary anymore. Just a few minutes ago, probably even less than that, I had gotten sick at the sight, and now, it didn't even bother me, as I hung above it, weighted down by a dead teenager and hanging on only by my left hand. Almost...Calming.

I make the choice when I hear Silver's footsteps on the roof getting closer to me, presumably to pull me back up and save me. It is possible she would just push my fingers off, let me fall and let me die, but I know she won't do that. It would be so much more complicated. I make the choice when I continue to hold onto the weight in my hand, of the girl now dead. I make the choice because Silver never had to kill anyone, and she certainly wasn't going to kill me. And I wasn't going to kill her.

I'm not letting go of you Jewel. It doesn't matter where you are.

I release my left hand from the ledge, and my body starts to fall toward the ground.. I can still save somebody. I can save Silver. There is still so much pain in my body, but so much is gone now that my body is in free air, which I'm happy for. The less, the better.

Falling never feels good, not even when you know you're about to die. The churn in your stomach still stays, as if you are just on a ride.I see Silver's face peer over the ledge, filled with anguish, and I can't help but start helplessly back at her. Do good things, promise me that.

Ten stories of falling, and my last thought before hitting the ground is of my father and my mother, and how happy I am that I'm about to see them again, after all these years.


	14. Afterward

I see the lights blaring in front of me, and for a moment, everything disappears. I can pretend none of it's real.

If only that were the truth.

I can barely remember the last few days. Or I choose not to think about it.

When I can finally see through the lights, I see them cheering. The dull roar of ecstatic screams connect with a picture. My trainer says that they're calling me the innocent girl. The one that didn't have to kill.

Oh, but I watched it happen. I'm not supposed to be here.

The last name doesn't help either, that I was destined to win with the last name Winnings. Silver Winnings, what a prestigious name, full of honor and pride. They say with a name like that, I was destined to be the winner, no matter how horribly I prayed. No matter how desperate I was not to be. I want a new name. Actually, I would like no name at all. Become nothing, floating through humanity unnoticed.

We never really get what we want, do we.

The next couple hours are the worst. The fake smiles, me pretending to be appreciative, to be happy. That it was a strategy what I did, a strategy to survive.

My thoughts shift to home, to mom, to Sterling, to Marcus. How can I look at them seeing what I have seen? Having done what I did? How can I look at my mother and not think about the boy from seven, who I brought food to like she would do to me when I was out working on the field everyday? How can I look at Marcus and tell him I love him without thinking of Micah and Carla? How can I look at my brother, how small he is, and not see Lottie staring back at me?

If I had just run faster-

Finally, it's over. I smile and leave, just like I'm supposed to.

I'm back in my room that night, up on the tenth floor. It feels like it's been years since I've been here, since I slept in that bed. Before, my district partner Clover was right down the hall. But he was gone now. Everyone was gone now. Except for me.

I feel like I'm losing myself. I think of a Hunger Games way back, one I watched when I was a kid, where the victor got so mentally ill after his games he never recovered. Would that be me?

I'm about to throw myself on my bed when I hear the buzzing in my ear. It grows increasingly louder, and I'm about to yell for help when it stops.

Then the voice begins.

"Do not fear, Silver, the only one who can hear this is you."

What the-

"Do not say anything, just get into bed and pretend like you are trying to get to sleep."

Not that I normally would take orders from unpresented forces, but this thing was inside my head. I might as well listen.

What the hell was going on?

"Silver, one of your doctors implanted this in your head when they were fixing your wounds from the games. Do not worry, he is one of us. We are everywhere."

Like that's supposed to make me feel better about voices inside of my head.

"We need you to listen carefully, Silver. This device is not detectable, so the Capital will never know what's going on. You must listen."

You said that already.

"Silver, you are the champion of the Hunger Games, and we want you to help us."

Help you what?

"We have reason to believe you will be on our side. We'll discuss more later. This is only the beginning."

Of what?

"Welcome to Firefly, Silver Winnings."

* * *

><p><em>Firefly, coming May 2014.<em>

* * *

><p><strong>#swag<strong>


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